The growing issue of minors signing up to Meta’s app including Instagram is an issue that the tech giant continues to face.
Therefore, it seems like after experimenting with an array of solutions comes one that the tech giant feels might finally work. Surprise, it involves AI. Yes, to help shut down critics who feel the company is yet to do enough to stop minors from entering the dark side of Instagram, the app is happy to announce new plans.
In case you’re wondering, we already have a number of updates designed to lock down underage accounts. This includes Teen Accounts and restricting DMs coming from strangers. Now, Meta wants to use AI to curb the issue.
As reported by Bloomberg, the company wants to use adult classifiers that are based on AI to figure out if any user lied about their real age. If proven guilty, the account automatically switches over to restricted accounts.
Meta’s AI can go through user profiles to see their content, who they follow, and the kinds of content users engage with. After that, the account gets sorted into two different domains, those below 18 and those above 18. The former shifted to Instagram’s Teen Account which features a lot of security and restrictions. This is to help kids remain safe from dangers online.
For now, Meta has its lips sealed on how accurate these tools are in terms of identifying the right ages. It also made way for appeals. Users can also upload any verification identification like ID cards or share video selfies through Yoti if they want to confirm their real age. Before, we saw a rule where users’ friends could vouch for their real ages but that didn’t seem to work too well and therefore is discontinued.
The latest tool arrives in the wake of a legal case filed by 33 AGs which accuse Facebook’s parent firm of adding features that attract minors. This has led to serious adverse effects on their mental and physical health. While Meta did try to dismiss the case as baseless, they’re yet to be successful.
Image: DIW-Aigen
Read next: Instagram Introduces Tools To Allow Users To Sort And Filter DMs
Therefore, it seems like after experimenting with an array of solutions comes one that the tech giant feels might finally work. Surprise, it involves AI. Yes, to help shut down critics who feel the company is yet to do enough to stop minors from entering the dark side of Instagram, the app is happy to announce new plans.
In case you’re wondering, we already have a number of updates designed to lock down underage accounts. This includes Teen Accounts and restricting DMs coming from strangers. Now, Meta wants to use AI to curb the issue.
As reported by Bloomberg, the company wants to use adult classifiers that are based on AI to figure out if any user lied about their real age. If proven guilty, the account automatically switches over to restricted accounts.
Meta’s AI can go through user profiles to see their content, who they follow, and the kinds of content users engage with. After that, the account gets sorted into two different domains, those below 18 and those above 18. The former shifted to Instagram’s Teen Account which features a lot of security and restrictions. This is to help kids remain safe from dangers online.
- Also read: Meta’s Plans For Setting Up Nuclear-Powered AI Data Center On Hold Thanks To Rare Bee Species
For now, Meta has its lips sealed on how accurate these tools are in terms of identifying the right ages. It also made way for appeals. Users can also upload any verification identification like ID cards or share video selfies through Yoti if they want to confirm their real age. Before, we saw a rule where users’ friends could vouch for their real ages but that didn’t seem to work too well and therefore is discontinued.
The latest tool arrives in the wake of a legal case filed by 33 AGs which accuse Facebook’s parent firm of adding features that attract minors. This has led to serious adverse effects on their mental and physical health. While Meta did try to dismiss the case as baseless, they’re yet to be successful.
Read next: Instagram Introduces Tools To Allow Users To Sort And Filter DMs
