Malta Parents React as Facebook Launches Locked ‘Teen Accounts’ for 13-17-Year-Olds

# Meta Launches Teen-Only Facebook Profiles as Maltese Parents Ask: “Do 13-Year-Olds Really Need a Timeline?”

Sliema mum Claire* still remembers the day her 12-year-old came home from church-school asking when he could open “a proper Facebook” like his cousins in Sicily. “I told him the rule is 13,” she laughs, waving a €3 pastizz in the direction of the Bay Street screens that flash Instagram ads between shop-fronts. “Now Meta says 13-year-olds get their own ‘Teen Accounts’. I’m not sure whether to feel relieved or terrified.”

Claire’s dilemma is about to become island-wide. On Tuesday, Meta rolled out its global “Teen Account” format—automated profiles that lock 13- to 17-year-olds into the tightest privacy settings Facebook has ever offered. Every Maltese teen who signs up (or who is already on the platform) will now be funnelled into a feed where:

– Strangers can’t DM them
– Their posts are invisible to search engines
– Ads for alcohol, cosmetic surgery and diet supplements are automatically blocked
– A daily “Quiet Mode” nudges them off the app after 60 minutes

The tool is being activated in 180 countries at once, but Malta’s 52,000 adolescents are a special case. According to the National Statistics Office, 96 % of local teens own a smartphone by age 14—one of the highest penetrations in the EU—yet only 38 % of parents tell surveyors they “understand” how privacy settings work. Put simply: kids here get online younger, and parents feel lost at sea.

## “We’re not Silicon Valley, we’re a village with 5G”

“Malta’s size makes peer pressure instant,” explains Dr. Ariadne Xuereb, a child psychologist at Mater Dei who has counselled 200+ families on screen-time issues. “If a Year 9 student at St Aloysius posts a beach party in Armier, a Year 8 in Gozo sees it within minutes and feels excluded. Our country is basically one big group chat.”

Xuereb welcomes the automatic private setting, but warns that Maltese culture prizes “being sociable” above almost everything else. “We push teenagers to join village festa committees, band clubs, football nurseries. Facebook has become the noticeboard for all that. If the new Teen Account stops them from sharing festa photos publicly, organisers will panic that volunteerism will drop.”

## Parish priests, band clubs and influencers react

Fr. Joe Borg, media officer for the Archdiocese, says parish youth groups are already scrambling. “We used to create public events so teens could invite friends. Now we’ll have to friend their parents first, then add the teen. It’s an extra step, but safeguarding is safeguarding.”

Meanwhile, 17-year-old TikTok creator Kelsey* (42 k followers) argues the change is “five years too late”. “Most of us moved to TikTok and Snapchat where our parents can’t find us. Facebook is where you go to talk to your nanna. Still, the quiet-mode timer is cute—maybe it’ll stop my cousin from doom-scrolling during Mass.”

Businesses are eyeing the shift too. Johann* runs a Paceville smoothie bar that spends €800 a month on Facebook ads aimed at 15-18-year-olds. “If ads to teens are restricted, I’ll re-target their older siblings instead. But honestly, the kids never had money; it was always the parents’ credit card. We’ll adapt.”

## What happens next?

From this week, Maltese teens already on Facebook will receive a pop-up: “Try your new Teen Account”. They can refuse—but only by submitting proof they are 18+ (a process that requires uploading ID or a parent’s video-selfie). Expect queues at MaltaPost for passport photos.

For Claire, the decision is weeks away. “His 13th birthday is in July, right after his confirmation party. I’ll probably let him open the account, but I’ve already printed the new privacy guide from BeSmartOnline. We’ll sit down, have a ħobż biż-żejt, and go through every toggle. If Facebook wants to treat him like a teen, I’ll treat him like one too—responsible, but still my baby.”

The Mediterranean keeps lapping at the Sliema benches, and the digital tide keeps rising. Meta’s Teen Account won’t stop Maltese adolescents from seeking connection; it simply moves the goal-posts. In a country where everyone knows everyone, the question is no longer “Should teens be on Facebook?” but “Who gets to watch them play?”

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