Meta expands AI age checks for Instagram teens as lawsuits mount

Meta will expand its AI age-estimation technology globally on Instagram, aiming to place millions more teenagers in Teen Accounts even when their birth dates indicate they are adults. The move matters as the company faces lawsuits alleging its platforms harm young users and has agreed to improve how it identifies underage users.

Teen Accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger limit who can contact teenagers, the content they see and time spent on the apps. Meta said US parents will start receiving Instagram notifications this month about how age-based protections are applied; in Australia, it is also using Apple’s age-range signal. The technology is still rolling out on Facebook, with a similar system planned for Threads globally later this year.