Meta’s AI Will ‘Proactively’ Find, Lock Down Teen Accounts

Meta is stepping up its efforts to lock Instagram users under the age of 16 into Teen Accounts.

Starting today, Meta will expand its use of AI to “proactively” find accounts it suspects belong to teens and place them under Teen Account restrictions. The company will also begin notifying parents with “information about how they can have conversations with their teens on the importance of providing the correct age online.” 

(Credit: Instagram)

Meta didn’t specify what new signals it will look at to improve its age-detection tech. The company’s existing evaluation dataset looks at key signals such as birthday posts and the accounts with which profiles interact. For example, if someone falsely signs up as an adult, but their friends happen to create posts wishing them a “happy 15th birthday,” Meta’s internal evaluation team will label the user as a teen and leave a note for further investigation.

(Credit: Instagram)

The latest development follows the expansion of Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger earlier this month. In that announcement, Meta had mentioned testing a method wherein suspected teens will be placed under Teen Accounts, regardless of their provided birthdates. This was after the company admitted last month that its age-verification tech hadn’t performed as well as it hoped to. 

Launched in September, Teen Accounts are automatically assigned to all users under the age of 16. They are private by default and come with built-in restrictions for sensitive content, messaging, tagging, live posts, and time limits. These accounts also allow parents to set custom time limits and see the people and topics their kids interact with. To modify most settings, kids need parental consent. 

Discord has also started testing stricter measures to ensure kids view age-appropriate content. If the platform’s sensitive media filter blurs content for a user in the UK or Australia, they’ll be required to verify their age by completing a facial scan or submitting an ID. The platform is also facing a lawsuit from the state of New Jersey over its alleged failure to protect children.