Meta expands AI age checks for Instagram teens as lawsuits mount

Meta Platforms said on Monday it would expand its AI age-estimation ​technology globally to move millions more teens on ‌Instagram into Teen Account protections, even if ​they have given birth ⁠dates showing they are adults, as the company faces lawsuits alleging its platforms harm young users.

Teen Accounts, available on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger, include ‌built-in protections that automatically limit who ‌can ⁠contact teens, the content they ⁠see and their time on the apps.

Parents in the US will begin receiving Instagram notifications this month ​explaining how ‌teens are placed in age-appropriate protections, Meta said.

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

Meta said it is continuing to roll out the technology on Facebook ⁠and will begin launching similar technology globally on Threads later this year.

Meta ‌faces multiple lawsuits over allegations that its platforms harm teens.

In August, Meta struck settlements worth up to $18 billion with nearly every US state and territory to resolve lawsuits brought by attorneys general ‌over the platforms’ harm to teens.

Under ​the settlements, Meta agreed to improve how it identifies teens and children ⁠under 13.

Meta settled with a teen ⁠plaintiff last month in a Los Angeles trial testing claims that Instagram ‌and Facebook were designed to be addictive, causing mental health problems and ​an eating disorder.