Meta rolls out AI age detection amid growing global scrutiny

Meta is using AI-powered tools to identify and remove underage users from its platforms, amid mounting pressure from governments over its handling of child safety and age verification online.

The tech giant said its systems will scan posts, captions, comments, bios and account activity for signs that a user may be under 18, such as birthday references or mentions of school years. The technology is designed to flag users who may have entered an adult birthday when signing up.

Meta is also introducing “visual analysis” tools that look at photos and videos for general indicators of age, such as facial features and bone structure. It said the system is not facial recognition and does not identify specific people, but instead estimates whether someone appears to belong to a certain age group.

The move comes amid increasing scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic over how Meta handles child safety and age verification on its platforms.

Last week, the European Commission preliminarily found that Meta had failed to stop under-13s from accessing Instagram and Facebook, concluding that the company’s existing age-checking systems were ineffective and may breach the Digital Services Act. Regulators said children could still bypass minimum age rules simply by entering false birthdates when signing up.

Meta is also facing questions in the US. This week, New Mexico asked a court to impose a $3.7bn penalty on the company and force changes to Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp following a ruling earlier this year over child safety failures.

It comes after a California jury ruled in March that Meta and YouTube contributed to harm caused by “addictive” platform design features, including recommendation systems and prolonged engagement tools. Both companies said they would appeal the verdict.

In its announcement, Meta described understanding age as “an industry-wide challenge” and reiterated calls for app stores and parents to play a bigger role in protecting younger users.