Meta Platforms, the tech giant behind Facebook, announced on Tuesday that it will expand its technology safeguards for teen accounts to 27 European Union countries and to Facebook in the United States. This move comes amid growing criticism regarding its efforts to protect teenagers online.
Tech companies worldwide face increasing pressure from concerns about online abuse, teen mental health, and the spread of AI-generated child sexual images. Meta last year introduced a system to proactively identify accounts it suspects are teens, even if they list an adult birthday, and place them in Teen Account protections.
The company stated that this technology will be expanded to 27 countries in the European Union, with the UK and EU following in June. Additionally, Meta is expanding these safeguards to Facebook in the United States for the first time, using advanced AI to detect underage accounts beyond simple age admissions and strengthening measures to prevent new accounts from users suspected of being underage.