Meta Launches Advanced Safety Tools for Nigerian Teens and Parents at Youth Summit in Abuja
Meta hosted the Nigeria Youth Safety Summit at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, gathering government representatives, civil society organisations, parents, educators, content creators, and youth leaders.
The event focused on prioritising digital wellbeing, strengthening strategic partnerships, and fostering safer online environments for young Nigerians. Co-hosted with the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, the summit showcased Meta’s ongoing commitment to youth safety through innovative protections, parental supervision tools, and digital literacy resources designed to empower teens to navigate the digital landscape confidently and securely.
The summit featured keynote addresses, a ‘Parents Learn & Brunch’ session organised in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, and panel discussions with parent creators and participants. These sessions explored practical approaches to encouraging safer online engagement, reinforcing the vital role of multi-stakeholder collaboration in advancing digital wellbeing for Nigeria’s youth.
Sylvia Musalagani, Head of Safety Policy for EMEA at Meta, emphasised the company’s dedication: “At Meta, our goal is to provide teens with safe, age-appropriate online experiences, and events like the Nigeria Youth Safety Summit reflect our commitment to promoting safer and more positive digital experiences for teens. With products such as Teen Accounts, Meta is putting the right protections in place so teens can explore their interests and express their creativity in a safe, age-appropriate space. We will continue to build the safety features and tools that families need to support young people online.”
At the heart of Meta’s youth safety initiatives lie Teen Accounts, a specialised experience across Meta’s platforms designed specifically for teenagers. These accounts include built-in protections that address parental concerns by promoting age-appropriate experiences, limiting unwanted contact, and fostering healthier digital habits. Teen Accounts are automatically activated for all teenagers, incorporating features such as private accounts, stringent messaging settings, content restrictions, limited interactions (only tagging or mentions from followers), daily time limits (reminding teens after 60 minutes), and sleep mode from 10 PM to 7 AM. Additionally, teens under 16 require parental permission to adjust these settings to be less restrictive.
“Child online safety is a cornerstone of our mission,” stated Honourable Minister Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim for Women Affairs and Social Development. “We are steadfast in our pledge to safeguard Nigerian children from technology-enabled violence. Safety begins with informed adults guiding our young people because it is a shared responsibility between parents, tech industry leaders, and government. Today’s summit offers a practical walkthrough of parental supervision tools and Teen Accounts. We appreciate Meta for their collaboration and for fostering these vital conversations.”
Meta also enhances parental oversight through improved supervision tools, allowing parents to receive notifications when their teen reports content, view messaging activity, and set daily time limits for Instagram. Parents can schedule breaks and monitor the content topics their teens engage with, aligning digital experiences with their interests and safety.
Expressing appreciation, Ayodele Olawande, Honourable Minister for Youth Development, said: “I want to thank Meta for this remarkable achievement. Our ministry is committed to equipping Nigerians with the skills needed to succeed in the digital age while safeguarding them against emerging digital threats. The objectives of this summit closely align with our National Youth Data Protection and Awareness Training Programme. We believe that online safety is a collective effort. We encourage Meta to expand access to these tools, guides, and educational materials so that young Nigerians across the country can benefit from this initiative.”
Throughout the summit, discussions centred on youth online safety and wellbeing, fostering dialogue, knowledge-sharing, and collective action to strengthen partnerships and advance a shared vision for protecting Nigeria’s young digital citizens.