Meta uses smart AI post review to verify user ages in profile crackdown

Meta is expanding the use of AI to proactively identify and restrict suspected teen users on Instagram, despite previous challenges with age verification technology. This move extends the company’s Teen Accounts system, which applies default privacy settings and content restrictions to users under 16, and aligns with recent similar measures implemented on Facebook and Messenger platforms. The initiative represents Meta’s intensified approach to youth safety amid growing scrutiny over social media’s impact on younger users.

The big picture: Meta is ramping up efforts to enforce Teen Account restrictions on Instagram by using AI to proactively identify users under 16, regardless of their self-reported age.

• The company will now scan profiles for age indicators like birthday posts and interaction patterns to place suspected teens under protective restrictions.
• Meta is simultaneously reaching out to parents with guidance on discussing accurate age reporting with their teenagers online.

Key details: Teen Accounts, which launched in September, apply automatic restrictions designed to protect younger users from potentially harmful content and interactions.

• These accounts are private by default and include built-in limitations on sensitive content, messaging capabilities, tagging, and live posts.
• The system also incorporates parental controls like time limits and visibility into their children’s interactions and content preferences.
• Most Teen Account settings can only be modified with parental consent.

Behind the numbers: Meta admitted last month that its age verification technology hadn’t performed as effectively as anticipated, prompting this more aggressive approach.

• The company’s evaluation team currently identifies underage users by examining signals like friends posting “happy 15th birthday” messages to accounts registered as adults.
• While Meta hasn’t specified exactly what new signals it will incorporate, the company appears to be expanding its detection methodology.

Why this matters: This initiative follows Meta’s recent extension of Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger, indicating a comprehensive strategy to enforce age-appropriate experiences across its platforms.

• The shift to proactively placing suspected teens under restrictions represents a more assertive approach to youth safety than waiting for users to self-report.