Meta has found a new way to catch teens who lie about their age on Instagram by using artificial intelligence. The tool, called the “adult classifier,” will identify users under 18 and automatically apply more restrictive privacy settings to their accounts.
The AI will look for indicators such as the accounts a user follows and the content they interact with most frequently. If it suspects that a user is underage, it will convert their account to a teen account, regardless of the age they claim on their profile.
The tool has already been implemented secretly since September.
The privacy settings currently applied to children under 16 include making accounts private rather than public, and preventing them from messaging strangers. These settings cannot be changed without explicit parental consent.
Meta has not specified how accurate the AI tool is but will offer an appeals process for users who are incorrectly flagged as underage by the software. If teens attempt to manually change their age on their account, they will be required to provide identification.
Translated from: Unboxholics
