Meta expands AI age checks to move more teens into protected accounts

Meta Platforms announced on Monday that it is expanding its artificial intelligence age-estimation technology around the world. The move aims to place millions more teenagers on Instagram into Teen Account protections, even if those users entered birth dates showing they are adults.

Protections

Teen Accounts are available on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger. They include built-in protections that automatically limit who can contact young users, the type of content they see, and their total time spent on the apps. Parents in the US will begin receiving Instagram notifications this month to explain how teens are placed in these age-appropriate safeguards. In Australia, the company has started using Apple's age-range signal as an extra way to figure out users' ages. Meta also plans to roll out the technology on Facebook and launch similar tools globally on Threads later this year.

Lawsuits

These changes come as Meta faces multiple lawsuits over claims that its social media platforms harm young users. In August, the company reached settlements worth up to $18 billion with nearly every US state and territory to resolve lawsuits from attorneys general over platform harm. Under those agreements, Meta promised to improve how it spots teens and children under 13. Furthermore, Meta settled with a teen plaintiff last month in a Los Angeles trial that tested claims about Instagram and Facebook being designed to be addictive and causing mental health problems and an eating disorder.

Context

Social media companies face growing pressure from governments and families worldwide over the safety and mental health of young users. Age verification tools have become a central battleground as platforms try to balance user privacy with the need to shield minors from harmful online content and addictive features.