Meta blocks teen access to AI characters worldwide
Meta has disabled teen access to AI characters across all its apps worldwide, following parental demands for greater transparency and control over their children’s interactions with this technology.
The decision comes just ahead of a court case in New Mexico, where Meta faces allegations of failing to protect minors in its apps.
“In the coming weeks, teens will no longer be able to access AI characters in our apps until the updated functionality is ready,” Meta stated in its blog.
According to Cryptopolitan, the rule applies to anyone who has listed their age as a teenager, as well as those who claim to be adults but are suspected to be teens based on age-prediction technology.
In October, Meta introduced parental controls allowing guardians to manage teens’ interactions with AI, limiting exposure to violence, nudity, and graphic depictions of drug use, inspired by PG-13 ratings. Later, the company added tools to monitor AI characters, allowing parents to fully disable chats with them.
Meta also plans to launch special AI characters specifically for teens. These will include parental controls, age-appropriate responses, and focus on education, sports, and hobbies.
Technology under pressure
Meta now faces allegations that it has failed to protect minors from online harassment, human trafficking, and sexual abuse on its platforms.
In pretrial motions, Meta stated that jurors should only decide whether it violated New Mexico’s unfair practices law concerning child safety and youth mental health. Other claims, including election interference, disinformation, or privacy violations, should not be considered.
Besides the New Mexico case, Meta faces a trial next week over allegations of social media addiction. A 19-year-old plaintiff, K.G.M., claimed the platform’s algorithm caused her addiction and harmed her mental health.
On Thursday, Wired reported that Meta sought to limit the collection of information on social media’s impact on teen mental health, attempting to remove mentions of a recent teen suicide linked to social media, as well as references to Meta’s finances, employee activity, and Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard years.
As we wrote, Meta is rising today: what traders are watching (January 22)
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