58 mins ago
Meta Expands Threads Parental Controls in India Amid Child-Safety Concerns
Meta is adding new tools to Threads to help parents supervise teenagers in India.
Parents will be able to see how much time teenagers spend on the app.
They can also set limits, block the app at certain times, and control some privacy settings.
The changes come while Indian officials are asking technology companies to do more to protect children.
Officials are especially concerned about illegal child sexual abuse material and how recommendation systems may spread harmful content.
Meta has agreed to report child-safety issues to Indian cybercrime authorities.
India’s data-protection rules may also require companies to get parents’ permission before using children’s personal data.
However, checking a person’s age can require collecting more information.
Government officials say parental controls alone cannot stop illegal material from being detected or shared.
Meta is rolling out parental supervision tools for Threads users in India through Family Center.
Parents can monitor teenagers’ usage, set time limits, block access during certain hours, and manage tagging and sensitive-content settings.
The rollout comes as India scrutinizes Meta’s content moderation, recommendation algorithms, deepfake safeguards, and intermediary protections.
Meta has agreed to report child-safety matters directly to India’s cybercrime authorities through the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre.
The company’s controls are part of a broader debate involving CSAM detection, children’s data, age verification, and platform accountability.
- Who
- Meta and parents or guardians of teenagers using Threads in India; Indian government and cybercrime authorities are also involved.
- What
- Meta is introducing parental supervision tools on Threads and expanding cooperation on child-safety matters.
- Where
- India, with related regulatory action involving the United States and the Asia-Pacific region.
- When
- The rollout is occurring now as part of Meta’s wider Asia-Pacific expansion; Meta’s US settlement was agreed in August.
- Why
- To give parents more control over teenagers’ use of Threads and address growing concerns about child safety, unlawful content, recommendation systems, and children’s data.
Government and Regulatory Concerns
Platform-Level Controls
What child safety requires
Government and Regulatory Concerns
Indian officials say parental controls such as time limits and tag restrictions are different from detecting, reporting, and preventing the spread of unlawful material, including CSAM.
Platform-Level Controls
Meta’s Threads rollout provides parents with practical controls over teenagers’ time, access, tagging, and selected content and privacy settings.
Platform accountability
Government and Regulatory Concerns
The Indian government is pressing Meta on human review, locally informed moderation, recommendation algorithms, and whether algorithmic amplification affects intermediary protections.
Platform-Level Controls
Meta is responding with product-level safety measures and has agreed to report child-safety matters directly to India’s cybercrime authorities.
Age checks and children’s data
Government and Regulatory Concerns
India’s data-protection framework requires verifiable parental consent and restricts targeted advertising, behavioural monitoring, and profiling of children, while creating concerns about the information needed for age verification.
Platform-Level Controls
Age assurance is included among the measures discussed in Meta’s US settlement, but the articles do not state that Meta has resolved the tension between age checks and additional data collection.
Key facts
- Platform
- Threads
- Company
- Meta
- Parental tools
- Usage monitoring, daily limits, scheduled blocking, Sleep Mode, tagging controls, and selected privacy and sensitive-content settings
- Indian reporting channel
- Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)
- Relevant Indian law
- Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and the Digital Personal Data Protection framework
- US settlement
- Meta agreed to a $17 million settlement with 47 US states in August
- Key concern
- Parental controls do not by themselves detect, report, or prevent the spread of child sexual abuse material
Quotes
A government official
An Indian government official discussing the limits of Meta’s parental controls
“Limiting screen time, controlling tags and restricting sensitive content are different from detecting, reporting and preventing the spread of unlawful material”
NDTV
Sources
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