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Meta has begun using AI on Instagram to monitor the ages of its users, ensuring that those under 16 are using age-appropriate accounts.
Meta announced on Monday (21 April) that AI was being trialled to scan for users under 16 years of age and that those it detects would be migrated to Instagram Teen Accounts, which was launched in September.
On 21 April, in an update to what it was doing with Teen Accounts, Meta said it was “beginning to test AI technology in the US that is designed to proactively find accounts we suspect belong to teens, even if the account lists an adult birthday, and place them in Teen Account settings”.
The use of AI to detect ages is not new for Meta, but it says it is improving “to ensure our technology is accurate and that we are correctly placing teens we identify into protective, age-appropriate settings”.
The company acknowledges that the technology may not be completely accurate, and for now, it will allow users to change their settings so adults detected as under-16s will be able to stay in a full adult account.
The move follows Australia’s controversial social media ban being passed late last year, restricting the social media activity of those under 16 years of age.
In November 2024, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the legislation, which would prevent those under 16 from having social media accounts, in an attempt to protect them from bullying and harmful online content.
“I know there are many mums and dads who have been pushing for change in this area, and this newspaper has run a strong campaign in support of them,” said the release.
“There’s no going back to a world without technology, and the internet has given all of us access to a world of knowledge and culture that can be such a force for good. But too often, social media isn’t social at all.”
Despite facing backlash due to the methods of verification and concerns with social media giants collecting user data, the legislation was passed into law and will take effect in November this year, 12 months after the bill passed.
“This is Boomers trying to tell young people how the internet should work,” Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
Senator Jacqui Lambie was similarly critical of the bill, saying: “Some people thought it was a good idea until we looked at the detail, and let’s be honest, there’s no detail.”
This lack of detail includes how age verification will work and what personal data that verification will be based on. Despite these concerns and more, Sunita Bose, managing director of the Digital Industry Group (DIGI), said DIGI was still willing to work with the government to explore the answers to the many questions that remain unanswered regarding the legislation.
“The social media ban legislation has been released and passed within a week and, as a result, no one can confidently explain how it will work in practice – the community and platforms are in the dark about what exactly is required of them,” Bose said.
“This law has passed despite advice from Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner, the Children’s Commissioner, the Privacy Commissioner, 100 youth experts in an open letter to the Prime Minister and a coalition of mental health organisations. The consultation process must be robust in addressing their concerns.
“As DIGI and our members work to understand their compliance obligations under the law, we’ll work constructively with the government throughout the implementation period.”
Alongside trialling AI for age verification, Meta said it would also be advising parents on how to raise the concerns about social media and the “importance of providing the correct age online”.
It also said that its Teen Accounts have been extremely successful.
“Since September, there are at least 54 million active Teen Accounts globally, with 97 per cent of teens ages 13-15 electing to remain in these protections,” it said.
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