Instagram announced on Tuesday the introduction of a new school partnership program designed to speed up the moderation process of reports submitted by verified school accounts. This initiative is currently available to all middle and high schools across the United States, allowing them to directly report posts or student accounts that may breach the app’s guidelines to Instagram. These submissions are given priority for review, and schools receive notifications regarding the actions taken.
The company stated that the primary objective of the program is to enable educators to report potential safety issues concerning teenagers, including incidents of bullying, more efficiently. Schools that participate in the program will display a “school partner” banner on their profiles to indicate their involvement. Additionally, Instagram will provide educational resources equipped with safe app usage tips for educators, parents, guardians, and students.
Over the past year, Instagram has piloted this program with 60 schools and has worked alongside the International Society for Technology in Education and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development to develop the initiative. Other middle and high schools in the United States are invited to join a waitlist to participate in the program.
This new program is launched amidst legislative efforts such as the Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA), which aims to prevent children under 13 from accessing social media. In February, the Senate Committee on Commerce approved the bill. The U.S. Senate has also passed two other related pieces of legislation: the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Instagram has previously implemented other measures to enhance online safety, including the introduction of teen accounts for users under 16. These accounts are set to private by default, impose restrictions on messaging, and provide parental controls along with other limitations.
