Teen Accounts for Instagram Launched in Sri Lanka with Parental Controls, Meta Confirms
Meta Launches Supervised Teen Accounts for Instagram in Sri Lanka
Meta has officially launched Teen Accounts for Instagram in Sri Lanka, introducing a suite of parental supervision tools aimed at improving online safety for young users. The announcement was made during a special event held at the Ministry of Digital Economy, under the patronage of Deputy Minister Eranga Weeraratne.
According to the Ministry’s statement, Meta demonstrated how the new teen account features will offer parents and guardians greater control over their children’s digital activities on Instagram. These tools are specifically designed for users aged 13 to 17.
Key Features of Supervised Teen Accounts:
- Communication limited to approved contacts
- Restricted messaging options
- Parental control over sensitive content
- Limits on interactions with unknown users
- Ability to set daily screen time restrictions
The Ministry emphasized that this move marks a major advancement in creating safer online spaces for teenagers in Sri Lanka. The feature empowers guardians to maintain oversight while enabling a more secure and age-appropriate social media experience.
Meta also revealed that similar parental control features will soon be available on other platforms, including Facebook and Messenger.
The event also focused on Sri Lanka’s broader digital transformation and the need for international alignment in internet governance. The upcoming implementation of Sri Lanka’s data protection law was highlighted as a key milestone.
Sarim Aziz, Meta’s Director of Public Policy for South and Central Asia, shared insights into Meta’s investments in artificial intelligence, revealing that the company has invested over USD 75 billion in AI infrastructure. He also noted the success of Meta’s open-source Large Language Model, Llama, which has exceeded 1.2 billion downloads globally.
Also present were Sumudu Rathnayake, Advisor to the Ministry; Senura Abeywardena, Meta’s Head of Public Policy for Central Asia and Sri Lanka; and Tehara Punchihewa, Associate Manager of Public Policy for South Asia, among others.
