Instagram Is Tightening Controls on Teen Accounts

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[00:00:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Welcome to Tech News Briefing. It's Wednesday, September 18th. I'm Zoe Thomas for The Wall Street Journal.

[00:00:24] [SPEAKER_04]: Listen up. Apple's got new AirPods models. Four of them. But can any of them hit the quality and price sweet spot?

[00:00:34] [SPEAKER_04]: Our personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen has been testing them out.

[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_04]: And then, Instagram is making changes to prevent teens from creating adult accounts with phony birthdates.

[00:00:45] [SPEAKER_04]: And it will now automatically make youth accounts private with the most restrictive settings.

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_04]: Our family and tech columnist Julie Jargen has been speaking with Instagram's head Adam Mosseri.

[00:00:57] [SPEAKER_04]: And she'll be here to tell us about the changes.

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_04]: First up though, Apple has expanded its headphones options.

[00:01:08] [SPEAKER_04]: And the new versions of its wireless wearable audio line offer a range of features.

[00:01:13] [SPEAKER_04]: From noise canceling to hearing aids. And a variety of price points.

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_04]: Our personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen has been sorting through the differences and testing them out.

[00:01:22] [SPEAKER_04]: So Nicole, Apple hasn't updated its basic AirPods in several years.

[00:01:28] [SPEAKER_04]: What has Apple changed in the new AirPods 4?

[00:01:31] [SPEAKER_03]: There are two new AirPods 4. That's probably the biggest change.

[00:01:35] [SPEAKER_03]: There's your basic, traditional, classic, white toothpicks in your ear AirPods 4.

[00:01:42] [SPEAKER_03]: Those have some new features like you can nod your head to accept a Siri request.

[00:01:49] [SPEAKER_03]: You can shake your head to decline it, for example.

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_03]: But there is a new step up model that's $179. It's $50 more.

[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_03]: And that's called the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation.

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_03]: And that is the model that I'm excited about.

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_04]: Why are you most excited about the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation?

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_03]: Previously, you had to pay $249 for active noise cancellation in an Apple branded wireless earbud.

[00:02:16] [SPEAKER_03]: Most wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation are in the $200-ish price range.

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_03]: This $179 model offers a lot of pro features, including active noise cancellation at a slightly more budget price.

[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm not saying $179 is very affordable for an earbud, but we're talking Apple economics here.

[00:02:40] [SPEAKER_03]: So this is relatively affordable for a lot of the features that it provides.

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_03]: Like, okay, I mentioned the active noise cancellation.

[00:02:49] [SPEAKER_03]: Also, the case can now be charged via Qi wireless charging or an Apple Watch charging puck.

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_03]: The case is also ringable via Find My, which is a feature that I use literally every day because, I don't know,

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_03]: these AirPods find themselves in random pockets of random coats or at the bottom of my laundry hamper.

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_03]: If you've ever lost your AirPods case, that feature alone is worth the upgrade.

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Tell us a little bit more about how that active noise cancellation works.

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, you tested it out. How well did it function?

[00:03:21] [SPEAKER_03]: It's surprising how well it functions.

[00:03:24] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm not saying it's the best noise cancellation I've ever heard in my ears.

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_03]: A lot of over-ear models that are much more expensive from Sony or Bose will definitely offer better noise cancellation.

[00:03:34] [SPEAKER_03]: And the Apple's two-year-old AirPods Pro 2 offer double the noise cancellation of these buds.

[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_03]: So they're not even the best noise cancellation that Apple offers.

[00:03:46] [SPEAKER_03]: But I'd say the sound blockage is on par with the first generation AirPods Pros.

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_04]: Let's talk about the other AirPods versions for a second.

[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_04]: What new features do the AirPods Max and AirPods Pro have?

[00:03:59] [SPEAKER_03]: The two-year-old AirPods Pro 2 are getting a game-changing feature, which is a hearing aid capability.

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER_03]: And this will affect the millions of people with mild to moderate hearing loss.

[00:04:13] [SPEAKER_03]: You can take a hearing test via software update on your iPhone,

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_03]: and that will assess whether or not you need the hearing aid capability at all.

[00:04:21] [SPEAKER_03]: And if you do, then Apple can turn on this hearing aid function.

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_03]: And I love that this is coming via a free software update to an older model.

[00:04:30] [SPEAKER_03]: And you don't need a newer AirPods Pro in order to get this.

[00:04:34] [SPEAKER_03]: The AirPods Max, which is the $549 high-end over-ear headphones that Apple sells,

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_03]: got some new colors and a USB port, but no other upgrades.

[00:04:48] [SPEAKER_03]: And it's not really the over-ear headphone that I recommend to most people

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER_03]: because the case isn't very protective and you can't charge and listen at the same time.

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_03]: There are a lot of random quirks with the AirPods Max that I don't really love.

[00:05:03] [SPEAKER_04]: That was our personal tech columnist, Nicole Nguyen.

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_04]: Coming up, Instagram is placing teens in a protective bubble.

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_04]: We'll tell you about the platform's changes and what it could mean for its business.

[00:05:16] [SPEAKER_04]: After the break.

[00:06:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Instagram announced changes for teens using its platform.

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER_04]: The app, which is owned by Meta, has been under pressure from parents and lawmakers

[00:06:28] [SPEAKER_04]: to do more to protect young users.

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_04]: Instagram is building on changes to teen accounts it announced earlier this year.

[00:06:35] [SPEAKER_04]: Our family and tech columnist, Julie Jargon, spoke with the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri,

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_04]: about how the company is tightening guardrails for teens, and Julie is here to tell us more.

[00:06:46] [SPEAKER_04]: So Julie, what are the new changes?

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_02]: All teenagers are going to be automatically placed into sort of a walled-off part of Instagram

[00:06:54] [SPEAKER_02]: where all of the accounts will be set to private and they will have the most restrictive settings

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_02]: placed on them, which means that, for example, teens won't be able to direct a message with

[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_02]: people unless they follow them or are already connected to them.

[00:07:11] [SPEAKER_02]: There will be a reduction in certain types of content that they can see and their Instagram

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_02]: accounts will mute notifications automatically during nighttime hours, among other things.

[00:07:23] [SPEAKER_04]: How will the platform change the kind of content that teens see?

[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_04]: Because, you know, for example, a Wall Street Journal investigation earlier this summer

[00:07:31] [SPEAKER_04]: revealed that sexual videos were being recommended to teen accounts.

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_02]: Instagram said that they have done a lot of work to try to stop that from happening and

[00:07:40] [SPEAKER_02]: they are also going to tighten the settings so that teens don't see other types of content

[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_02]: that could be harmful, such as self-harm or suicide-related content, content having

[00:07:51] [SPEAKER_02]: to do with cosmetic surgery type of procedures, videos of people fighting and other violent type of content.

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_04]: How is Instagram going to prevent workarounds for teens trying to create fake accounts?

[00:08:03] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so that's a big part of this change because typically whenever settings become

[00:08:08] [SPEAKER_02]: more restrictive, teenagers find a way to get around that.

[00:08:11] [SPEAKER_02]: The usual way to get around that is to create a brand new account, but they're not going

[00:08:15] [SPEAKER_02]: to have an easy time doing that now because if teens try to establish a new account with

[00:08:21] [SPEAKER_02]: an older birthdate, they will be then prompted to show an ID or to upload a video selfie

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_02]: to Instagram, which will run through this face-based age prediction model, so they won't be able

[00:08:33] [SPEAKER_02]: to create fake new Instagram accounts.

[00:08:36] [SPEAKER_02]: Are the restrictions different depending on age?

[00:08:39] [SPEAKER_02]: Teens of different ages are going to be treated a little bit differently here, so older teens,

[00:08:43] [SPEAKER_02]: those 16 and older, will be able to change the more restrictive settings themselves because

[00:08:47] [SPEAKER_02]: Instagram has said that they feel older teens are more mature and need to have more autonomy.

[00:08:53] [SPEAKER_02]: However, if their accounts are under parental supervision, then they will need their parents'

[00:08:59] [SPEAKER_02]: permission to change any settings.

[00:09:01] [SPEAKER_04]: Meta already has an AI tool to verify age. It uses it for Facebook dating.

[00:09:07] [SPEAKER_04]: How will Meta use that tool for Instagram?

[00:09:09] [SPEAKER_02]: Early next year, they plan to try to find all people on Instagram who are lying about their age,

[00:09:16] [SPEAKER_02]: lying and saying that they're older than they are.

[00:09:19] [SPEAKER_02]: They're going to use this AI model to do that.

[00:09:24] [SPEAKER_02]: Once they determine that teenagers really aren't the adults that their birthdate suggests they are,

[00:09:31] [SPEAKER_02]: they will then place them into this more restricted teen account section of Instagram.

[00:09:37] [SPEAKER_02]: And the way this AI model works is they look at different signals that suggest that someone is a certain age.

[00:09:44] [SPEAKER_02]: And those signals include things like who their people are friends with and what kind of content they look at.

[00:09:50] [SPEAKER_02]: If the AI gets it wrong and someone says, no, I really am an adult,

[00:09:53] [SPEAKER_02]: they can provide proof of their age to Instagram and be let out of that.

[00:09:58] [SPEAKER_04]: Instagram is making these changes, but what did Moseri say about who should be responsible for verifying age

[00:10:05] [SPEAKER_04]: in this overall online ecosystem for teens?

[00:10:09] [SPEAKER_02]: Moseri has said and continues to say that he believes Apple and Google,

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER_02]: which make the operating systems for most phones, should provide age verification at the device level

[00:10:18] [SPEAKER_02]: and allow app makers to access that data.

[00:10:21] [SPEAKER_02]: Apple has said that social media companies are the ones that should verify age

[00:10:25] [SPEAKER_02]: because if they share users' ages with third-party apps,

[00:10:28] [SPEAKER_02]: that that could violate the privacy expectations people have of Apple.

[00:10:31] [SPEAKER_02]: So there's this ongoing debate between the device makers and the social media companies

[00:10:36] [SPEAKER_02]: about who should be handling age verification.

[00:10:40] [SPEAKER_02]: Instagram is going ahead and doing this, but they do say that their AI models for predicting age aren't perfect.

[00:10:45] [SPEAKER_02]: So there are likely to be mistakes.

[00:10:48] [SPEAKER_04]: Tell us a little bit more about what Moseri said on why Instagram is doing this and doing this now.

[00:10:54] [SPEAKER_02]: He said the reason they're doing this now is that they feel like they have finally arrived at the right solution

[00:10:59] [SPEAKER_02]: for addressing teen safety.

[00:11:03] [SPEAKER_02]: Initially, they set out to develop parental control tools

[00:11:06] [SPEAKER_02]: and that through continued discussions with parents,

[00:11:10] [SPEAKER_02]: they evolved their approach because of this very thing they heard about,

[00:11:12] [SPEAKER_02]: which is just how burdensome it feels to parents to have to stay on top of the different settings on every app their child uses.

[00:11:20] [SPEAKER_02]: However, Instagram certainly is under a lot of pressure from regulators and lawmakers

[00:11:25] [SPEAKER_02]: and their lawsuits all related to child safety on social media.

[00:11:30] [SPEAKER_02]: So there's that happening as well.

[00:11:33] [SPEAKER_04]: What impact did Moseri tell you this could have on Instagram's business?

[00:11:37] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, he said in the short term it's probably going to hurt the business

[00:11:40] [SPEAKER_02]: because clearly a lot of teens are not going to be happy with these changes.

[00:11:44] [SPEAKER_02]: He said that they expect to lose some meaningful amount of teen growth and teen engagement.

[00:11:48] [SPEAKER_02]: But he said they're in the long game and that they believe that over the long term,

[00:11:53] [SPEAKER_02]: as they earn trust from parents, that that will help the business in the future.

[00:11:58] [SPEAKER_04]: So where and when will these changes take place?

[00:12:01] [SPEAKER_02]: So the changes started to take effect on Tuesday in the U.S.

[00:12:04] [SPEAKER_02]: and they expect to fully roll out this teen account change in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia within the next 60 days.

[00:12:13] [SPEAKER_02]: And then later this year, this will take effect in Europe and starting in January elsewhere around the world.

[00:12:21] [SPEAKER_04]: All right. That was our family and tech columnist Julie Jargin.

[00:12:24] [SPEAKER_04]: And that's it for Tech News Briefing.

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_04]: Today's show was produced by Julie Chang with supervising producer Catherine Millsop.

[00:12:31] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm Zoe Thomas for The Wall Street Journal.

[00:12:33] [SPEAKER_04]: We'll be back this afternoon with TNB Tech Minute.

[00:12:36] [SPEAKER_04]: Thanks for listening.