A recent report indicates that Meta compensates influencers to advocate against social media restrictions on teenage accounts globally.

      Meta is reportedly hiring paid influencers to advocate for Teen Accounts in regions where governments are contemplating restrictions on adolescent social media use.

      Imagine this scenario: Meta organizes an event for parenting influencers at a scenic location by Sydney Harbour, gives out customized scout badges and gourmet s’mores, and encourages them to convey to their audiences that broad bans on teen social media usage are misguided.

      This event took place, according to a new investigation by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), which revealed that Meta held the Sydney gathering in July 2025, just five months before Australia's significant ban on under-16 users was enforced. TTP's report indicates that this strategy has now been implemented in over a dozen countries considering similar policies.

      How Meta’s influencer strategy operates

      The TTP findings show a consistent pattern across various locations. Meta organizes well-crafted branded events, often termed Instagram Safety Camp or Screen Smart, and then brings in actors, radio hosts, psychologists, and parenting influencers to endorse its Teen Accounts as evidence that such bans are not necessary.

      In Indonesia, actor Darius Sinathrya urged his 1.8 million followers to explore the safety features. In India, actress Juhi Parmar reassured parents that their teens would be safer online, just months after Instagram had been discovered approving ads for child exploitation in the region. Likewise, in Brazil, actor Douglas Silva, who has three million followers, shared similar messages.

      Many influencer posts utilize vague hashtags like #instagrampartner instead of clear advertising disclosures. Meta also finances youth safety NGOs and think tanks that promote its anti-ban messages without consistently revealing their funding sources.

      Why is this significant?

      Independent evaluations present a contrasting narrative compared to the influencers' messages. The Washington Post previously found that Teen Accounts do not adequately shield children from harmful content, and TTP corroborated these findings, aligning with another investigation that revealed Instagram was supplying sexual content directly to Teen accounts despite Meta's stated safety assurances.

      Meta spokesperson Edward Patterson contested the notion that its promotional activities are misleading, arguing that total bans merely redirect teens toward less secure, unregulated areas of the internet. However, TTP director Katie Paul interprets this differently, stating to The Guardian that Meta's dependency on paid advocates indicates that the company recognizes, as she puts it, “the brand has become a problem.”

      Manisha Priyadarshini is a writer specializing in technology and entertainment, possessing over nine years of editorial experience.

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