Instagram to use AI to find accounts of teens posing as adults

Meta, which owns Instagram, said Monday that it would start using artificial intelligence to search for teens using fake birthdates for accounts on the social media app. Even among accounts that list adult birthdays, the AI software flags some as belonging to minors and changes them to teen accounts with tighter restrictions. Meta has previously used AI to verify whether profiles belonged to teens but didn’t previously use the technology to proactively search for and change accounts. Meta Platforms, which also owns Facebook, began testing its new approach on Monday on U.S. user accounts, it said. 

The news comes after Facebook whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams on April 9 told U.S. senators that Meta analyzed user behavior to target ads at people in emotionally disturbed states, including teenagers and young mothers.

What’s the difference between standard and teen accounts on Instagram? Teen accounts have stricter content limits, block messaging from accounts the user doesn’t follow, and send reminders to leave the app after an hour. 54 million minors worldwide have a teen account, Meta said.

What if the AI wrongly changes an account to a teen account? Meta said it frequently retrains its AI model to ensure accuracy. But people do have the option to appeal AI decisions and provide identification if the model makes a mistake.

Dig deeper: Read my report on Sarah Wynn-Williams’ whistleblower testimony.