Meta launches parental supervision tools

MANILA, Philippines — Technology company Meta has launched new Instagram tools and resources in the Philippines to support the well-being of young people and help keep them safe online.

Meta, which also owns Facebook, announced this week that users in the Philippines may now access the Family Center, a hub where parents and guardians can access materials and resources to help young people build positive online habits.

Through the Family Center, parents and guardians can now set up new tools, available in English and Filipino, to oversee the Instagram accounts of young people in their family.

“We want young people to have an experience that is both fun and safe when using our apps, and we want to support their parents to assist them in doing this. Our intention is for these tools and resources to strike the right balance between young people’s desire for autonomy online, whilst allowing for some involvement from parents and caregivers to help ensure their teen is having a safe experience online,” said Clare Amador, Philippine public policy head at Meta.

“We are grateful for the inputs of safety experts, our partners, parents and young people whose feedback has been instrumental in helping us design all of our age-appropriate experiences. Keeping young people safe online is one of our most important responsibilities, and we remain committed to continuing our investment in new tools, products and resources,” she added.

The Family Center may be accessed via the Instagram app. It includes articles, videos and tips on a range of topics to help parents and guardians start a conversation with teens about social media.

It also includes video tutorials on how to set up and use the new supervision tools on the photo and video-sharing platform.

The new supervision tools allow parents and guardians to manage a minor’s time spent on Instagram, keep track of new connections and get notified of reports.

“Parents and guardians can send invitations on Instagram to young people in their family to initiate Supervision tools and vice-versa,” said Meta.

According to the technology company, the Family Center and Parental Supervision tools were launched after extensive consultation with experts, parents, guardians and young people from around the world.

Ahead of the launch, Meta convened roundtables with experts from the government, academe and non-profit organizations in the Philippines, including the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Council for the Welfare of Children.

Also consulted were the Stairway Foundation, Plan International Philippines, UNICEF Philippines, Save the Children Philippines, Youth for Mental Health Coalition, Unang Hakbang Foundation, Society of Adolescent Medicine of the Philippines and the De La Salle University Social Development Research Center.

Discussion at the roundtables focused on three core areas: how to empower teens to make healthy decisions for self-supervision, how to build trusted networks of support and how to support families to create boundaries for safe use together.

DepEd hotline

On Thursday, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte led the launch of the department’s Learner Rights and Protection Office and TeleSafe Contact Center Helpline.

The helpline, Duterte said, will allow the DepEd to receive child protection complaints from students through landline, e-mail and messages through the agency’s Facebook page.

“When I assumed my role as the DepEd Secretary in June this year, not only did I have to think of solutions to the problems that had hounded the department for years, but I also had to deal with disturbing and painful stories about learners being victims of sexual abuse,” she said.

“Some do not understand my position with regard to professionalism. But truly, if you are a teacher, you have no business drinking alcohol with your students. And if you are a teacher and you are attracted to a student you are drinking with, that is preliminary to what you want to do to the child,” she added.

Several groups have opposed Duterte’s recent professionalism policy, which prohibits teachers from maintaining relationships with students outside the classroom, including on social media.