Meta to launch teen accounts on Instagram in Hong Kong this week

Meta will launch an Instagram service for users aged under 16 in Hong Kong and the rest of the Asia-Pacific this week, with the international technology company saying the new system will require a parent or guardian to oversee their child’s account.

“Starting this week, we’ll begin placing teens who sign up for Instagram into teen accounts, and we’ll notify teens already using Instagram about these changes so we can begin moving them into teen accounts in the coming months,” the head of Instagram at Meta, Adam Mosseri, said on Tuesday morning.

The feature has already been launched in some parts of the world, including in Australia, the United States and Canada since September last year.

The new protections require a parent or guardian to be assigned as an account handler, allowing adults to oversee their child’s online interactions, content consumption and time spent on the platform.

Mosseri acknowledged the ongoing challenge of age verification and admitted the platform was still seeking ways to prevent teens from falsifying their details.

“It depends on the jurisdiction. There are a number of different ways we try to verify age … none of them are foolproof,” Mosseri said.