Meta expands Instagram school program as teen safety scrutiny grows
META•Meta is adding features to Instagram’s U.S. school partnership program, which nearly 17,000 schools have joined. Verified students and schools will gain new tools for school directories, stories, announcements and communications.
1. New school features
Meta said it is creating a centralized hub for school-related accounts. Verified students at participating schools will be able to access a directory of clubs and teams, school-specific stories and notes for announcements. Verified schools will also get Channels and Notes features to communicate with students, parents and the wider school community.
2. Teen safety scrutiny
The expansion comes as Meta faces growing scrutiny over the impact of its platforms on younger users. In August, Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion over the next decade and impose strict limits on teenagers’ use of Facebook and Instagram to resolve claims that it designed the platforms to addict children.
