Meta Highlights Comprehensive Approach for Teen Online Safety

With growing concerns about online safety, cyberbullying, and digital wellbeing, Meta has reiterated its dedication to protecting young users.

Meta brought together parents, educators, creators, youth advocates, and industry stakeholders at the Youth Online Safety Summit to discuss how technology can help create safer, more positive online experiences for teens while easing the burden on busy parents by providing helpful tools to supervise their teens online.

During the event, Meta emphasized that safeguarding young people online requires a collaborative effort involving technology companies, parents, schools, governments, and the teens themselves.

“Meta wants to ease the burden on busy parents by providing helpful tools to supervise their teens online, while creating positive and protected online spaces where young people can connect with friends, learn and discover new opportunities,” said Sylvia Musalagani, Head of Safety Policy, Africa, Middle East and Turkey at Meta.

A comprehensive approach to teen online safety

A central theme of Meta’s presentation was the expansion of Teen Accounts, a product approach designed to give younger users stronger default protections from the moment they sign up.

Teen Accounts automatically place teens under 18 into protective settings, including private accounts, strict messaging controls, sensitive content restrictions, limited interactions from strangers, daily time reminders and overnight sleep mode features. Teens under 16 cannot turn these settings off without parental approval.

Meta has rolled out improved parental supervision tools that give parents more insight into their teens’ online activities. These features include default private account settings, controls over who can reach out to teens, limits on exposure to sensitive content, and expanded parental monitoring options. According to the company, these measures aim to help young users navigate social media while minimizing interactions and inappropriate content.

These tools allow parents to receive notifications when their teen reports content, view who their teen has been communicating with, set daily time limits, schedule breaks from the app, and better understand the topics their teen is engaging with online.

Meta emphasised that creating safer online experiences requires more than platform protections alone. Through Family Center, parents and guardians can access supervision tools, expert guidance and educational resources designed to help them have meaningful conversations with teens about social media and online safety.

Family Center serves as a central hub where parents can manage supervision settings and access articles, videos and expert advice on navigating digital life with young people. In addition, Meta continues to invest in digital literacy resources through initiatives such as the Youth Portal and other educational programmes that help young people develop the skills needed to engage online responsibly.

A collective responsibility

Throughout the summit, one message remained clear: keeping young people safe online is a shared responsibility.

“One of the key messages I hope young people take away from today’s discussion is that online safety is a shared responsibility. While organizations such as the Film and Publication Board, government, parents, educators, and technology platforms all have a role to play, young people themselves also have a responsibility to make informed decisions online. We have strong frameworks in place, including the Films and Publications Act and the South African Constitution, to help protect users in digital spaces. However, the conversations we’ve had here today shouldn’t end at this summit. We encourage everyone to take these discussions back to their homes, schools, and communities so that together we can build a safer online environment for all.” – Eugene Mashapa, Senior Researcher, Film and Publication Board

As digital platforms become increasingly embedded in everyday life, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of young users remains a shared responsibility. Meta’s presentation at the South Africa Youth Safety Summit underscored the company’s multi-layered approach, combining technology, parental involvement, education, and collaboration to address online safety challenges.

//Staff Writer