Meta AI Scans Users for Teen Age

Meta is launching an AI-driven age estimation technology across its platforms, beginning with Instagram this month and expanding to Facebook and Threads later in the year. The artificial intelligence analyzes user behavior and posts to accurately determine age, helping to identify users under 13 and apply teen-specific protections. This initiative aims to bolster user safety following significant legal settlements and ongoing criticism regarding the platforms' impact on minors.

Teen accounts on Meta's platforms come with a range of restrictions, including limitations on content, contacts, and usage time. The AI technology is designed to ensure that underage users are placed in these protected categories, even if they attempt to circumvent age verification by providing a false birthdate. Parents will be notified of these new measures for their children's accounts, enhancing parental oversight and safeguarding minors from potentially harmful content and addictive platform features.

This expansion of AI age estimation follows extensive testing in countries like the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Meta also used this announcement to call on industry peers, such as TikTok and YouTube, to adopt similar safety practices. The company has faced considerable legal pressure from various countries and state attorneys general in the US over alleged addictive design and inadequate protection for young users, leading to substantial financial settlements and commitments to implement stricter age-related safeguards.