ICYMI in Punchbowl News: Blackburn Says Meta’s Instagram Teen Accounts Announcement Is ‘Nothing More Than a PR Stunt’
October 15, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) released the following statement slamming Meta for introducing revamped teen accounts to avoid public scrutiny following the bombshell Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law hearing Senator Blackburn led exposing Meta for burying child safety research:
“Instagram’s sudden announcement of revamped teen accounts is nothing more than a PR stunt in the wake of the bombshell hearing I led exposing how Meta buried child safety research,” said Senator Blackburn. “As the Kids Online Safety Act gains momentum and notches new supporters in the Senate with 60 co-sponsors and counting, Meta is racing to save face and escape accountability.”
Tech: Kids bill backers slam Instagram changes
Ben Brody
Punchbowl News
Senators pushing a bipartisan bill that would impose restrictions on social media to protect kids online are not impressed with Instagram’s new “PG-13” approach to teen users.
They dismissed Tuesday’s announcement by the Meta-owned app as a cynical attempt to undercut congressional efforts to further regulate the industry.
“Instagram’s sudden announcement of revamped teen accounts is nothing more than a PR stunt,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said in a statement.
The pushback comes a day after Instagram said it would be putting in place new content restrictions based on PG-13 movie ratings for teen users. For instance, in addition to existing limits on search terms like self-harm or eating disorders, the app will block results for “alcohol,” “gore” and other “mature search terms.”
Concerns about teens’ experience on Instagram — alongside TikTok, Snap and other social media platforms — was behind Blackburn’s push for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).
KOSA origins. The bill would limit certain design features like autoscroll and place a legal “duty of care” on apps to “prevent and mitigate” harms like eating disorders or violence.
Blackburn recently assembled filibuster-proof support for KOSA in the Senate as a show of strength. The House is poised to try to limit the duty of care in a larger kids online package, as we’ve reported.
Blackburn is running for governor and hoping to enact KOSA, which previously fell short due to the concerns of House GOP leaders, before she leaves the Hill.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), the Democratic sponsor of the bill, said Meta’s changes wouldn’t stop the legislation’s momentum.
“This takes no steam out of KOSA,” Blumenthal said. “Big Tech is girding itself once again to oppose KOSA in every way possible, not only lobbying behind the scenes, but making public announcements about how it’s reforming itself, which are more PR than reality.”
Senate critics of Instagram said the app’s changes also wouldn’t go far enough to address other concerns with Meta products, like young users’ interactions with chatbots.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote on X that he’d like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg to testify on the Hill once more about the new Instagram policies. (Hawley has long called for the CEO’s testimony.)
“While he’s at it, let’s slap age-verifications on chatbots too,” Hawley tweeted.
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