Meta plans AI crackdown on underage Instagram users amid privacy debate

Meta, the parent company of Meta Platforms, is preparing to use artificial intelligence to detect and remove accounts belonging to users under 13 on Instagram and Facebook.

The company says the move is aimed at addressing the presence of underage users on its platforms, News.Az reports, citing Deutsche Welle.

According to Meta, the AI system will analyse full user profiles to identify signals that may indicate a user is underage, including birthday posts, references to school life, captions, comments and other contextual information. The system may also evaluate visual features in photos such as height and facial structure to estimate age, an approach that has raised concerns among critics who describe it as invasive.

The plan follows preliminary findings from the European Commission, which stated that Meta had failed to adequately prevent children under 13 from accessing its platforms in the European Union. Meta says it aims to provide safer online experiences and claims it does not use data from children under 13 to train its AI systems.

The proposal has intensified wider debate about teenage access to social media. Some countries, including Australia and Indonesia, have introduced bans for users under 16 on platforms such as Instagram, while several European Union member states are considering similar restrictions. Critics argue that instead of age bans, regulators should focus on platform design features such as endless scrolling and algorithmic recommendations that may negatively affect adolescents.

Experts remain divided on Meta’s approach. Some warn that large-scale profiling of user behaviour could create detailed data records of minors, while others say invasive monitoring risks turning personal data into advertising tools rather than safety measures. Meta says accounts flagged as potentially underage will be deactivated, and permanently deleted if age cannot be verified.

News.Az 

By Leyla Şirinova