Instagram to use AI to catch teens lying about their age and automatically move them to restricted accounts

Would I lie to you?

· TechRadar

News By Graham Barlow published 6 November 2024

Teenage users will no longer be able to avoid using teen accounts under the new system. (Image credit: Shutterstock/Koshiro K)
  • Meta to use AI age-prediction software to spot teenagers lying about their age
  • Move comes after Instagram introduced teen accounts in September
  • Meta will begin moving teens automatically to its new accounts

According to a new Bloomberg report, Meta is set to use AI to predict the age of its Instagram users and automatically transfer anybody under 18 to a teen account, if it believes they are lying about their age.

In the wake of national outcry about the impact of social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook on the mental health of teenagers, Meta introduced teen accounts in September. Teen accounts, for children aged 13-17, have built-in limits on who can contact them, and what content they can see. They are automatically set to hide potentially offensive comments and message requests.

Secure accounts for teenagers will only work if those under 18 volunteer to use them or are honest about their ages, which is why Meta has devised a way of enforcing the appropriate accounts. The proprietary software tool Meta has developed, called ‘adult classifier’, will come into play next year and is designed to classify users into two groups: under or over 18 years of age. According to Allison Hartnet, Meta’s director of product management for youth and social impact, the tool will scan a user's profile, what content they interact with, and their follower list to determine their age. Even innocuous “happy birthday” messages can be used to help determine a user's true age.

Busted

Meta's own research from 2019 indicates that social media apps like Instagram can be bad for the mental health of teenagers. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Since teen accounts are new and currently voluntary there’s a large user base of teens on Instagram who are using regular adult accounts. Meta plans to start moving teens who have volunteered their age information onto the new teen accounts very soon, and introducing the 'adult classifier' early next year.

The move is Meta's latest attempt to redress some of the public outcry over the effect of social media on teens. In 2021 a report published in the Wall Street Journal showed that Meta’s reports indicated that it knew Instagram was harmful to the mental health of teenagers, especially teenage girls. “We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls,” said one slide from Meta’s own report from 2019.

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