Meta will use AI to identify teenagers on Instagram even with false ages

The technology analyzes account signals and behavior patterns to estimate users’ ages. When it identifies someone under 18, the platform automatically applies the Teen Account settings, even if the profile is registered with an adult date of birth.

Protections include restrictions on who can message young people, recommended content filters, and screen time tracking tools. Meta also started showing informative videos for parents in the United States, with explanations about security mechanisms and guidance on the use of social networks by teenagers.

The company is also testing an integration with Apple’s age verification system in Australia. The feature shares information about the user’s age when downloading applications, as long as the family has configured and authorized this signal to be sent on the device.

Meta advocates that app stores take a greater role in verifying age and obtaining parental consent. The proposal provides for parental authorization to occur in the App Store and other stores, which would help prevent each platform from needing to request identity documents individually.

The company also suggests that social media’s artificial intelligence systems work as an additional check. They could identify discrepancies between reported and estimated ages and share corrections with app stores. Thus, the updated age range would be considered in the different services used by the teenager.

Meta argues that many age verification laws do not explain how companies should calculate users’ ages. According to the company, some rules could lead to the adoption of invasive checks for all audiences and the unnecessary collection of sensitive documents, such as government-issued identities.

In the United States, Meta also reached a bipartisan agreement with 52 attorneys general from states, territories and the District of Columbia to improve the identification of children under the age of 13 and ensure that adolescents ages 13 to 17 receive adequate protections. The company also asked platforms, such as TikTok and YouTube, to adopt similar measures to identify minors and automatically apply security restrictions.

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