Meta today announced privacy updates on Facebook to further protect teens from online harm. With these new updates, users under the age of 16 (or under 18 in certain countries) will be defaulted into more private settings when they join Facebook. The new privacy defaults are applicable for following items:
- Who can see their friends list
- Who can see the people, Pages and lists they follow
- Who can see posts they’re tagged in on their profile
- Reviewing posts they’re tagged in before the post appears on their profile
- Who is allowed to comment on their public posts
It is important to note that Meta rolled out similar privacy defaults changes in Instagram app recently.
Meta is also working to stop the spread of teens’ intimate images online. The non-consensual sharing of intimate images can be traumatic for the people involved. So, Meta is working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to build a global platform for teens who are worried intimate images they created might be shared on public online platforms without their consent. Meta is also working with Thorn and their NoFiltr brand to create educational materials that reduce the shame and stigma surrounding intimate images.
