Reel-ing it in: Meta is paying influencers to promote teen accounts

Tech Transparency Project’s report shows whenever governments mull platform regulations, company recruits influencers to promote its safety features

I n July 2025, Meta gathered parenting influencers from all over Australia at a waterfront venue overlooking the Sydney Opera House. It was a camping-themed event and in many ways was like any other influencer affair. There were Instagram-branded tents to take pictures in, an Instagram-branded step-and-repeat, a custom-tote making station and Instagram-branded snacks and coffee cups.

Meta was playing defense: the company had five months until the Australian government planned to enforce a new law that banned children under 16 from using social media platforms. The Silicon Valley-based firm told influencers that blanket bans on teens’ use of social media weren’t effective and recruited them to send a message to their hundreds of thousands of followers: Meta already had tools to help parents keep teens safe on Instagram.

Since 2024, Meta has tapped an army of influencers to promote its safety tools for teens. A new report by the Tech Transparency Project, a digital advocacy group, shows that whenever a government began discussing social media regulations for teens, Meta started recruiting lifestyle, parenting and mental health creators to promote parental and other safety controls the company already offers, including its accounts for users between the ages of 13 and 17, which have more restrictions than regular accounts. Meta recruited influencers through events, like the one in Australia, and paid some of them for their advocacy by sponsoring posts, according to the report.

Meta also found support from parent, advocacy and research groups that it supports financially in pushing back against teen bans or restrictions, according to the report.

Meta’s reliance on influencers to fight the bans suggests the company recognizes it can’t fight these measures, which would could cost it millions of users, alone, said Katie Paul, the director of the Tech Transparency Project. Meta needs to use influencers to spread its message because people don’t trust the company, said Paul. “The brand has become a problem,” Paul said.

Responding to questions about the report, Meta said that the firm works hard to “build strong protections for teens and effective controls for parents”.

“Blanket bans don’t keep young people safe, they simply push them toward less safe, unregulated corners of the internet,” said Edward Patterson, a spokesperson. “Where our apps remain available, such as in Australia where 16- and 17-year-olds are defaulted into Teen Accounts, we will continue working with parents and experts to ensure families are aware of our safety features, and know how to make the most of them.”

I n November 2024, Australia became the first country in the world to ban teens under 16 from using social media apps. The law, which went into effect in December 2025, required social media companies to shut down existing teen accounts and reject new ones.