Meta is pushing a global campaign to promote its “Teen Accounts” features, a strategy that has already reached millions of followers through paid influencer partnerships. The company targets countries that are considering or have implemented social media bans for users under 16. In India, actor Hiten Tejwani posted a reel telling his 732,000 followers that Instagram is “okay” to encourage the use of the new accounts. He explained that he agreed to the paid promotion because he views it as a way to inform parents, even though he personally barred his own 17-year-old children from using the app until they turn 16.
Using Parent Influencers to Counter Bans
The Tech Transparency Project reports a sharp rise in such promotional content. Meta reportedly pays parent influencers or celebrities with large followings to highlight features like screen-time limits and content restrictions. Katie Paul, the project’s director, said the goal is to show that Meta can self-regulate safety rather than face government bans. Meta has also hosted events in the U.S., New Zealand, and other regions to discuss these tools. In Australia, the company sponsored a youth mental health service that runs safety camps.
Meta has already faced regulatory pressure in the United States. In late August, the company settled a major legal case, agreeing to make several safety limitations default settings for teens. This came as U.S. regulators scrutinized the platform’s handling of child safety. Meanwhile, other nations like Australia, Brazil, and Indonesia have enacted their own bans for children under 16, with at least 22 other countries reportedly designing similar policies. The company argues that its tools are a necessary alternative to these restrictions.
Research by a Meta whistleblower and several online safety organizations evaluated 47 of the platform’s 53 teen safety features. They found that 64% of these features were broken, missing, or ineffective. Despite these findings, the influencer campaigns continue to emphasize the availability of tools for parents. Snehaalata Shah, a parenting blogger from India, promoted the features to her 238,000 followers, noting that her 6-year-old son already knows how to bypass restrictions on YouTube. She still supports the campaign, believing the tools offer a necessary layer of protection for teenagers.
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Legal experts offer a mixed view on the effectiveness of these approaches. David Greene, a senior counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said that while age verification tools have privacy risks, they are preferable to outright bans. He argued that bans deny young people access to information and communities. Greene believes that parental tools and social media literacy education are more viable solutions than government restrictions.
Many of the influencers promoting these accounts are mothers who say the tools give them more control. Sonam Jaggi, who runs the account @momavengers with 322,000 followers, said the promo shot has garnered over 310 million views. She emphasized that the main benefit for parents is the ability to monitor communication and screen time.
The Limits of Self-Regulation
Despite the large audiences reached by these influencers, the effectiveness of Meta’s safety tools remains in question. This statistic highlights a disconnect between the promotional materials and the actual functionality of the system.
In India, Snehaalata Shah promoted the features to her 238,000 followers on July 7. She noted that the teen account for her 14-year-old daughter allows her to track direct messages and screen time. Shah also addressed the potential loss of users if countries enact bans. She recognized the business motive behind the campaign but stated her support for the tools. She believes they offer a necessary layer of protection, even if a six-year-old can bypass restrictions on other platforms like YouTube.
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Influencer Perspectives on Paid Campaigns
Snehaalata Shah, an Indian parenting and travel blogger, accepted a paid campaign from an agency to promote the features. She stated this was her first paid promotion for Meta. Shah disclosed that the agency provided a brief idea for the script. She incorporated the teen account features into the middle of the recording. She made the script and the agency made a few changes.
Global Reach and Future Policies
The campaign operates on a global scale to counter proposed legislation. Meta has hosted “screen smart” events in the U.S., New Zealand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. In Indonesia, Meta commissioned a survey. The survey results revealed “overwhelming” parental support for teen accounts with safety features.
Meta faces increasing pressure from regulators in various nations. Katie Paul, the director of the Tech Transparency Project, noted that these policies threaten Meta’s growth plans. She argued that the company is using parent influencers to prove it can self-regulate rather than face government restrictions.