• Meta uses an array of influence tactics to try to shape the public narrative around kids and social media. The goal is to counter growing concerns that sites like Instagram can be harmful to teens’ health and safety.
• Meta funds a collection of parent and child safety groups, including the National PTA, that go to bat for its initiatives involving kids. This gives a sheen of expert approval to the company’s efforts to keep young users engaged on its platforms.
• Meta has also created something called the Trust, Transparency & Control Labs that publishes reports in support of its kid-focused products. Meta has at times framed these “labs” as a separate organization to regulators and others.
• Meanwhile Meta has funded an array of academic research projects that foster a more benign view of Instagram, helping to support the company’s contention that academic research is inconclusive on the topic of social media’s impact.