美国国家公共电台 NPR--Facebook parent company Meta releases new parental controls for Instagram

Facebook parent company Meta releases new parental¹ controls for Instagram

Transcript²

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Antigone Davis, global head of safety at Meta, about company changes that will address problems with the way teenagers use its platforms.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

It's been a year of intense public scrutiny³ for Facebook's parent company, Meta, including a Wall Street Journal investigation⁴, a whistleblower and a congressional inquiry⁵ into why the company failed to act on its own internal research showing teen users attribute mental health problems to its platforms. The company is releasing a set of tools today that it says will improve things. They include allowing parents to approve downloads their kids make in the company's virtual reality platform, allowing parents to see how much time their children are spending using virtual reality headsets and letting parents invite their kids to allow parental supervision⁶ over their Instagram accounts. I asked Meta's head of safety, Antigone Davis, if these things will improve teen's mental health.

ANTIGONE DAVIS: One of the tools that we actually are launching is called Nudge. And essentially⁷, what that does is if we see a teen is engaging with content for an extended period of time, we actually will nudge them to look at different content. And this was actually developed with experts.

FADEL: Even though Instagram is supposed to be just for 13 and over, a lot of kids under 13 are on these platforms, and they're not supposed to be. Is there progress at making sure that that doesn't happen?

DAVIS: Yeah, so we do have specific safeguards in place. There's a screen that pops up when you're setting up an account. We actually allow reporting. We also are developing AI to better identify people who are under the age of 13.

FADEL: Because the age verification - I mean, you can lie.

DAVIS: You can. And there's no - you know, there really is no one panacea⁸ for solving that problem. And it's a problem that the industry faces. And we're trying to come up with multiple ways to address that issue.

FADEL: Mata paused work on Instagram Youth for kids 13 and under. And a lot of people think an Instagram just for young people under 13 would only perpetuate⁹ more danger for kids. And yet Meta has insisted it does plan to create this platform. Why?

DAVIS: I'm not sure I would categorize it as insisting, but what I would say is this. You mentioned earlier that young people try to get onto technologies under the age of 13. They do. And what is really important is that whatever experience a child is having, it's actually age-appropriate, and it's built with them in mind.

FADEL: Yeah, but a lot of kids will try to get into their parents' alcohol cabinet or try a cigarette, but do we create a young version of that for them?

DAVIS: Well, I wouldn't compare those two things. I think these technologies offer a lot for young people in terms of education, information, the ability to make social connections, the ability to develop social skills, the ability to have fun in ways that just don't fit within that comparison. But I do think that when you think about other things like riding a bicycle, we actually try to take kids along on that journey and help prepare them for using these technologies. Will they look different when a child is under the age of 13? Certainly, they should.

FADEL: I think the reason I talked about it in that way is that even for adults, there are dangers when it comes to using social media. Adults report feeling addicted¹⁰. It's also linked to mental health struggles in adults. So is it responsible to continue to court younger and younger users onto a platform that can be dangerous even for adults?

DAVIS: What I would say is that this isn't an issue of courting younger users. This is really an issue of trying to understand where people and families are at. Anything that we do, we do with expert guidance. So you can count on us to be thinking and listening to researchers in this area and the boundaries that the research reveals.

FADEL: I'm going to just push back on that a little bit because one of the big concerns last year when internal research was leaked to The Wall Street Journal was that the company didn't act on it at the time. A sample size showed that teens linked body image issues, eating disorders¹¹, suicidal thoughts to Instagram. And yet the company didn't act. So has something changed since then when it comes to health and safety and internal research and what it shows?

DAVIS: So let me start by saying that has not been my experience at Meta. So my experience has been that we are constantly looking at these issues and that we are constantly developing policy and product changes that reflect what we learn. That's why we do this kind of research to actually develop and improve our products.

FADEL: Meta's head of safety, Antigone Davis, thanks for being on the program.

DAVIS: Thank you.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

And a note here - Meta pays NPR to license¹² NPR content.

1 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

6 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

7 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

8 panacea   

n.万灵药；治百病的灵药

参考例句：

• Western aid may help but will not be a panacea. 西方援助可能会有所帮助，但并非灵丹妙药。
• There's no single panacea for the country's economic ills. 国家经济弊病百出,并无万灵药可以医治。

9 perpetuate   

v.使永存，使永记不忘

参考例句：

• This monument was built to perpetuate the memory of the national hero.这个纪念碑建造的意义在于纪念民族英雄永垂不朽。
• We must perpetuate the system.我们必须将此制度永久保持。

10 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

11 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。