Snapchat has recently announced new safety measures for its teen users, offering parents the option to block their teens from interacting with the app’s “My AI” chatbot. Concerns had been raised about the safety of the tool for young people. The updated feature means that if parents choose to turn off the tool, teens can still message My AI, but the chatbot will respond with a notification stating that it has been disabled.
This change is part of a broader set of additions to Snapchat’s parental oversight tool, Family Center. The company aims to address the worries of parents who were uncertain whether it was healthy for their children to engage in conversations with a highly personalized computer chatbot.
Snapchat has assured users that My AI already includes safeguards against inappropriate or harmful responses, as well as temporary usage restrictions for those who repeatedly misuse the service. Additionally, the company is providing parents with visibility into their teens’ safety and privacy settings within the app’s Family Center. This includes information on who their child is sharing their Stories posts with, who can contact them on the app, and whether they are sharing their location on the live “Snap Map” feature.
Family Center was launched in 2022 amid wider concerns about the safety of young users on various social media platforms. Snapchat, along with Google, Meta, and TikTok, faced a lawsuit alleging that their services addicted teenage users and caused other mental health issues. These companies attempted to dismiss the lawsuit on First Amendment grounds and using Section 230 as a legal shield.
Since its launch, Snapchat has continuously introduced safety measures to protect young users. One such measure is the “strike system,” implemented in September, which aims to remove accounts promoting inappropriate content for teens in the app’s Stories and Spotlight sections.
By introducing these new safety measures, Snapchat aims to reflect the dynamics of real-world relationships between parents and teens, where parents have insight into their teens’ activities while respecting their privacy. The company also plans to make Family Center more accessible and easier to find within the app’s settings section.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel will be appearing before a Senate subcommittee hearing later this month, along with executives from Meta, TikTok, X, and Discord. The hearing will address concerns about youth safety on social media platforms.
The source of the article is from the blog revistatenerife.com