Opinion: Instagram's Teen Accounts are still rated R

On the same day Meta showcased its latest AI gadgets, Brandy Roberts stood outside its headquarters mourning her daughter Englyn — who was just 14 when she died after watching a “how-to” suicide video on Instagram. Brandy wasn’t there as an activist. She was there as a grieving mother demanding answers. Inside, Mark Zuckerberg fumbled through live demos of glitchy smart glasses and AI tools. Outside, grieving families demanded accountability. Meta’s silence spoke volumes: Growth over grief, product over protection, optics over safety. 

Meta’s failures aren’t new. Back in 2019, approximately 440,000 minors received follower requests from accounts previously flagged for predatory behavior. Since then, the company has focused on convincing users and lawmakers it can police itself — launching promotional campaigns like Instagram Teen accounts despite mounting evidence to the contrary.

Instagram Teen Accounts were marketed as a breakthrough in youth safety — with AI age detection, nudity filters, and location alerts. But independent audits found only 8 of 47 safety tools were effective. Teens still encountered sexualized content, self-harm imagery, and predatory behavior. Meta’s updates seem to be more about perception than protection.

New reporting from Heat Initiative, ParentsTogether Action, and Design It For Us reveals the dark reality of the teen experience on Instagram Teen accounts. Surveying 800 users aged 13–15, the report found that nearly half encountered unsafe content or unwanted messages in just the past month. Half said Instagram’s algorithm recommended suspicious adult-run accounts, and 65 percent hadn’t seen a single "take a break" notification — a feature Meta touts as a screen-time safeguard. These findings underscore a growing pattern: Meta’s promotional campaigns promise peace of mind, but the lived experience of young users tells a story of persistent exposure to harm. The discrepancy between marketing and reality isn’t just misleading — it’s dangerous.

And now, Heat Initiative and ParentsTogether Action have released a video showing exactly what kind of content teens are served on Instagram Teen accounts — content so inappropriate that even sharing it for advocacy feels ethically fraught. Watching these clips, I felt the same discomfort that Meta should feel every time its algorithm pushes similar material to millions of young users. If it feels wrong to show these videos to adults for advocacy, why does Meta feel justified in serving them to children at scale?

Platforms like Meta will continue to exploit their users — especially children — until we, the users, reclaim our power and demand a better digital community. One that values connection and public good over profit.

I left Instagram after witnessing parents like Brandy protest in NYC. It wasn’t easy — most of my friends stayed. But each month, I’m reminded that I have the power to choose platforms that value me, not exploit me. I do it for my younger self. For future generations. For the survivors I love. And for the children who can’t be here.

So next time you see organizations or influencers partnering with Meta, ask yourself: Is this about safety or optics? Just yesterday, Meta claimed its Instagram Teen experience would now be "guided by PG‑13 movie ratings." But the Motion Picture Association quickly clarified it was never consulted and called Meta’s claim "inaccurate." Once again, Meta borrows credibility it hasn’t earned, using trusted labels to mask persistent harm. When PR becomes the product and partnerships become shields, we owe it to ourselves — and our children — to look closer.

This article reflects the opinion of the writer.

Lennon Torres is a Public Voices Fellow on Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse with The OpEd Project. She is an LGBTQ+ advocate who grew up in the public eye, gaining national recognition as a young dancer on television shows. With a deep passion for storytelling, advocacy, and politics, Lennon now works to center the lived experience of herself and others as she crafts her professional career in online child safety at Heat Initiative. The opinions reflected in this piece are those of Lennon Torres as an individual and not of the entities she is part of. Lennon’s substack: https://substack.com/@lennontorres1