Meta Expands AI Age Checks Globally
The company will use automated tools to identify teenagers on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads following major legal settlements.
By Aiko Brooks ·
Social media platforms have faced increasing scrutiny over how they handle young users. Meta announced on Monday that it is expanding its automated age-estimation technology to users worldwide starting this month.
The company stated that it uses AI to identify individuals it suspects are teenagers, even if they entered an adult birth date during account creation. These users are then moved into Teen Account protections automatically. Meta said it is expanding this tool globally after seeing positive results from previous tests.
Teen accounts operate under stricter rules than standard adult profiles. These restrictions limit who users can contact, the type of content they see, and their total time on the app. The company noted that teens often create accounts with fake birthdays to bypass parental controls. The new AI feature addresses this by analyzing user behavior and posts to estimate age.
Parents in the United States who set up Instagram for their children will receive notifications about these new measures this month. Meta plans to roll out the age estimation algorithm to Facebook and Threads later this year. The technology has already been tested in the US, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
The rollout follows billion-dollar legal settlements and criticism that Meta’s platforms do not adequately protect teenagers. In the US, state attorneys general alleged that Meta’s apps encourage addictive behavior and fail to verify user ages properly. They claimed the platforms allowed adolescents to bypass parental controls and exposed them to harmful content.
In August, Meta agreed to pay $18 billion to US states. As part of this settlement, the company committed to improving how it identifies minors. The agreement includes specific changes to how teenagers interact with Meta’s platforms. These changes can only be removed by parents or guardians.
Under the new rules, users under 18 are limited to two hours of daily use. A nighttime curfew blocks usage from midnight to 6 a.m. Default settings will hide social comparison features like likes and reactions. Cosmetic procedure filters that alter a user’s appearance are also restricted by default.
Push notifications for teen accounts will be blocked between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. The company said this timing corresponds to when teens are likely in school. Users will receive prompts to take breaks after 15 minutes of continuous use. Additional prompts appear when daily usage reaches 60 and 90 minutes.
Parents and guardians will receive updates on their teen’s activity. They will be notified if their child messages an adult for the first time. Searches for topics such as suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders will also trigger alerts to parents. Children under 13 remain banned from using the apps.
Australia passed a law last year banning anyone under 16 from using social media platforms. This month, groups including the Digital Freedom Project and Reddit filed a lawsuit challenging that law. They questioned the scientific rationale for keeping children entirely off platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok. Meta called on industry peers like TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar safety practices.
