Meta has announced the expansion of its Instagram programme for schools, with around 17,000 schools having joined so far. Alongside expanding the programme’s reach, the company is working to create a new unified hub for school-related accounts, bringing those accounts together in one place on the platform.
New features for students and school accounts
Meta said verified students at participating schools would receive a range of new features. These include a directory for clubs and teams, school-specific stories and announcement notes, giving participating students access to a range of school content through the programme.
The programme’s expansion comes as Meta faces growing scrutiny over the impact of its platforms on younger users, particularly teenagers who use Facebook and Instagram. The scrutiny is linked to legal allegations about how the two platforms were designed and their impact on children, allegations made in lawsuits brought against the company.
In August, Meta agreed to pay up to 18 billion dollars over the next decade, while imposing strict restrictions on teenagers’ use of Facebook and Instagram, as part of a settlement of those lawsuits. The cases accused the company of designing the platforms in a way that led to children becoming addicted, while the launch of the new school features coincides with continued scrutiny of the safety of younger users.
