Meta, the company behind popular social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, is dedicated to creating a safe and positive online environment for people of all ages in Sri Lanka, with a particular focus on fostering the well-being of young users. As part of this commitment, Meta works closely with experts in mental health, child psychology, digital literacy, and more to develop features and tools that enable individuals in Sri Lanka to connect online safely and responsibly.

With the rapid growth of online interactions, Meta understands the importance of ensuring that users in Sri Lanka, especially young people, feel secure and satisfied with their experiences on its apps. To achieve this, Meta in Sri Lanka has implemented various measures to empower users and enhance their control over their social media encounters. Users can now manage their time, prevent unwanted interactions, and determine the type of content and accounts they encounter.

In recent updates, Meta has taken additional steps in Sri Lanka to prioritize the safety and privacy of teenage users:

• Targeted Advertising: Since February 2023, advertisers on Facebook and Instagram can only use age and location targeting when reaching teens. Options such as gender, interests, and other specific targeting parameters have been removed. This change aims to ensure that teenagers are exposed only to age-appropriate ads and relevant products and services available in their geographical location.
• Preventing Non-consensual Sharing: In collaboration with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the US, Meta has introduced the "Take it Down" platform. This global initiative helps teenagers who are concerned about the non-consensual sharing of intimate images they have created. The platform, similar to existing measures for adults, enables Meta to prevent the posting of a teen's intimate images online and can be utilized by other companies in the tech industry.

Meta's commitment to providing a secure online experience in Sri Lanka extends to its Instagram platform, where additional safety tools have been implemented:

• Age Verification: Instagram now prompts users attempting to change their date of birth from under the age of 18 to 18 or over to verify their age through ID upload or a video selfie.
• Supervision Tools: The Family Center allows parents worldwide to set up tools and supervise their teens' Instagram activities, ensuring a safer experience.
• Restrict: Developed in response to feedback from young people who sought more control over bullying and harassment situations, this tool restricts visibility of comments from restricted individuals, preventing them from seeing online status and read receipts.
• Alternate Topic Nudge: This feature prompts teens to explore different content topics if they have been scrolling through the same content for an extended period. In an early test, one in five teens who encountered the "nudge" switched to a different topic, highlighting its effectiveness.

Meta also acknowledges the importance of engaging parents in discussions about online safety in Sri Lanka. The Family Center provides parents and guardians with educational resources from experts, including articles, videos, and tips on communicating with teenagers about social media. Additionally, Meta has introduced the Facebook Parents Portal and Instagram Tips for Parents in Sri Lanka, providing further insight and guidance for parents navigating its platforms.

Committed to maintaining community standards in Sri Lanka that prioritize the safety of minors, Meta's policies include several measures:

• Default Privacy Settings: Instagram automatically sets all accounts belonging to individuals under 16 years old to private, limiting visibility to approved followers.
• Limited Information Sharing: Specific details shared by teenagers, such as contact information, school, hometown, or birthday, are only accessible to a restricted audience.
• Friend Request Reminders: Meta actively encourages minors to accept friend requests only from individuals they know.
• Location Sharing Awareness: For users under 18, location sharing is disabled by default, with consistent reminders when users enable this feature.

To empower young people and caregivers with information, Meta has established comprehensive resources and programs, including the Facebook Safety