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Children’s Privacy: New Instagram settings designed to combat teen ‘sextortion’ – but that’s one part of a larger problem

As if concern over social media impact on teen mental health weren’t enough, now organized groups have been found engaging in ‘sextortion,’ a form of blackmail in which teens are persuaded to share nude or intimate photos and then they’re blackmailed into paying to keep the images private. Instagram, which has faced criticism over making their feed addictive to young users, has added new features to protect against ‘sextortion,’ but critics complain that its parent company, Meta, does not go far enough to protect young users.