With this new feature, Instagram will now ask teens to stay away from harmful content

On Sunday, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, announced that Instagram would implement additional measures to steer kids clear of toxic content and encourage them to “take a break” from the platform. It was only a week before Clegg made his statements on CNN’s State of the Union show after whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before Congress about internal research showing Instagram can have a harmful impact on young people’s mental well-being.

Facebook’s algorithms will prompt youngsters to look at different content if they see themselves repeatedly viewing the same thing, even if it’s something that may be harmful to their well-being. Clegg indicated that this will make a significant difference. In addition to halting development of an Instagram Kids platform and providing parents with optional options to monitor their children, he said, the company planned to implement a feature “called ‘take a break,’ where the app will prompt teens to just take a break from using Instagram.

Last week, Facebook shared its plans to test a couple of new ideas: encouraging users to explore other topics if they’re focusing on content that could lead to negative social comparison, and a tool tentatively branded “Take A Break” where people could put their accounts on hold and take a moment to assess if the time they’re spending is productive.

In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, Clegg was questioned whether Facebook’s algorithm boosted or propagated pro-insurrection sentiments in the run-up to a riot at the United States Capitol building on January 6. Clegg refused to answer the question with a yes-or-no answer. There are rumours that Haugen will meet with the panel looking into the January 6th attack. 

Clegg did suggest that Facebook’s algorithm “should be held to account, if required, by regulation so that people can match what our systems say they’re meant to do from what actually happens.”

For the past few weeks, Facebook has been the target of harsh criticism following Wall Street Journal reporting based on documents provided by Haugen. According to Haugen’s internal research during her time as a product manager at Facebook, Instagram can be particularly harmful for adolescent girls. Despite Haugen’s claims to the contrary, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said it was nonsensical for a corporation that relies on advertisers to push offensive material in order to generate money.