On Tuesday, Instagram announced a new school partnership program aimed at facilitating processing of moderated reports submitted from verified school accounts.
The program is currently available to all middle and high schools in the United States, allowing schools to report posts or student accounts that may directly violate Instagram with the app guidelines. These reports will be automatically prioritized for reviews and the school will be warned about the actions taken.
The company says the goal is to help educators report more directly on potential teen safety issues, including bullying.
Participating schools feature a “school partner” banner in their profile, indicating their involvement in the program. Additionally, Instagram provides educational resources for educators, parents, parents and students with tips to help them safely use the app.
Over the past year, Instagram has tested new programs in 60 schools and has created the program in collaboration with the International Association for Educational Technology and the Association for Supervisory Curriculum Development (ISTE+ASCD).
Other US middle schools and high schools can sign up to join the program's waitlist.
The new program will help senators advance the Children's Social Media Act (KOSMA). This is trying to ban children under the age of 13 from accessing social media. In February, the Senate Commerce Committee approved the bill. The US Senate has passed two related bills: the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Online Privacy Protection Act for Children and Teens (COPPA).
Instagram is taking other steps focused on online safety. For example, you have started a teen account for users under the age of 16. This is set to private by default and has limitations on messaging, along with parent controls and other restrictions.