Meta Expands Global AI Age Checks to Strengthen Teen Safety Protections

ISLAMABAD: (News Desk0 – Meta Platforms has announced a global expansion of its artificial intelligence-based age-estimation technology to identify teenage users on Instagram and automatically place them under special protections, even if their registered birth dates indicate that they are adults.

The move comes as the technology giant faces multiple lawsuits alleging that its social media platforms negatively affect young users’ mental health and well-being.

Meta’s Teen Accounts feature, available on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger, includes built-in safety measures designed to restrict who can contact teenage users, limit the content they are exposed to and manage the time they spend on the platforms.

The company said parents in the United States would begin receiving Instagram notifications this month explaining how teenagers are identified and placed under age-appropriate protections.

In Australia, Meta has also started using Apple’s age-range signal as an additional tool to help determine users’ ages.

The company added that it was continuing to introduce the age-estimation technology on Facebook and planned to roll out similar measures globally on Threads later this year.

The expansion comes amid growing legal pressure over allegations that Meta’s platforms contribute to harmful effects on teenagers.

In August, Meta reached settlements worth up to $18 billion with nearly all US states and territories to resolve lawsuits filed by attorneys general over alleged harm to young users.

Under the agreements, the company committed to strengthening its systems for identifying teenagers and children under the age of 13.

Last month, Meta also reached a settlement with a teenage plaintiff during a Los Angeles trial examining allegations that Instagram and Facebook were deliberately designed to encourage addictive usage, contributing to mental health difficulties and an eating disorder.

The latest expansion highlights Meta’s efforts to strengthen age verification and safety measures as scrutiny over children’s online safety continues to grow.