Using Meta is expanding its age-class devices Aye To detect juvenile users and then automatically keep them in more restrictive adolescent account settings even if the user enters an adult birthday.
The company said in a blog post On Monday that it will identify the accounts that it is suspected that it belongs to the teen and transfers them to these strict settings. This admitted that the system could make mistakes, and users would have the ability to adjust their settings back when needed.
“We are using Artificial intelligence to determine age For some time, but taking advantage of it in this way is a big change, “Meta said.
This step is part of a comprehensive effort by meta and other social media platforms to better save young users amid increasing pressure from parents and MPs, arguing that technical companies are not enough to protect teenagers and protect the mental health of adolescents.
Instagram Teen accountsWhich was launched last year, includes underlying security that there are boundaries that can contact the teenager, what materials they can see and how long they can spend on the stage. Last year, the company automatically enabled these security features for all adolescent users, which required parents or guardian approval for anyone under 16 to make changes.
The company said that about 97% of users under the age of 16 maintain these security. This recently increased the teen account experience for Facebook and Messenger.
Meta said that it will start sending information about information about Instagram parents about why it is important to talk with your teenage age about providing exact age information online.
“It is an industry-wide challenge to understand the age of the people online,” the company said. “We will continue our efforts to help to ensure that adolescents are kept in age-appointed online experiences, such as adolescent accounts, but the most effective way to understand age, is to get parents’ approval on the app store and verify age.”
Although some organizations have appreciated such age verification methods, others such as Dvorah Heetner, the author of Growing Up in Public, is called “frightening”.
“To be effective in determining the age of the user for AI, it must know more than this, especially for a new user with a limited digital footprint,” he said. “We need to see more social apps to all users to protect all users from aggressive algorithms and harassment rather than focusing on age-gating.”
