New Research Finds Most Social Media Youth Safety Tools Fall Short
Researchers found 35 of 86 youth-safety features worked as promised, and every platform tested had at least a 50% failure rate.
- On Monday, the Cybersafety Research Center published a report finding that most social media safety features fail to protect young users, with systemic design issues preventing many tools from working as advertised.
- Researchers at the Cybersafety Research Center tested 86 safety features across TikTok, Instagram, Snap, and YouTube, finding that only 35 of those tools—just over 40%—successfully met criteria for functionality and accessibility.
- Feature failure rates reached 73% on Snapchat, 66% on Instagram, 55% on YouTube, and 50% on TikTok; researchers found apps suggested harmful content like "razor blade skin" to minor test accounts.
- Thecompanies largely disputed these findings, arguing tests failed to represent typical usage, while a YouTube spokesperson stated 84% of parents using supervised tools agree they provide confidence in a safer digital environment.
- Meta and YouTube face thousands of lawsuits alleging they intentionally harm young people, with researchers questioning whether heavy investments in safety tools have actually made platforms safe for minors.
53 Articles
53 Articles
TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube are failing kids with broken safety features, research finds
A new study tested 86 child safety features across TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube, and found that more than half were broken, buried, or missing entirely.
Most social media child safety features fail, research finds
Social media companies claim their platforms are safe for kids, promoting safety features that include restricting searches for harmful content, limiting messaging and warning of out-of-network contacts.
Social Media Safety Features Fail Children as Lawsuits Mount and Nations Impose Bans
Child safety tools on the biggest social media platforms often fall short. A report released Monday shows many advertised protections on Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube simply do not deliver. Researchers from New York University and Northeastern University spent months testing dozens of these features. What they found was sobering. Some safeguards were missing. Others proved broken or easy to dodge. Still more were buried so deep in menu…
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