This year, social media companies have been in the spotlight of the authorities. Lawsuits have hit big names like Meta and TikTok for their failure to adequately protect underage users. Under all the pressure, some, like Instagram, have been implementing harsh privacy measures on teen accounts. Now, Meta has offered insight into its new AI-powered adult classifier.
For months now, underage accounts (users under 16) on Instagram have received the “teen account” label. Profiles labeled as such have the most restrictive privacy restrictions by default. This should prevent children or teens from directly contacting potential bad actors or predators. Because these restrictions may limit features, some teens may try to bypass them.
Meta offers more details about the AI-powered adult classifier that Instagram will get
One way that minors might try to get around teen account restrictions is to create a new profile with a fake birth date. With that in mind, Meta announced in September that it will launch an AI-powered adult classifier tool to automatically detect such cases. Now Allison Hartnett, Meta’s director of product management for youth and social impact, has revealed more details about how it will work.
According to Hartnett, the tool will analyze multiple parameters to make a decision. These include the accounts a user follows in particular and the type of content they tend to interact with. Meta’s systems will also be on the lookout for potentially suspicious behavior when creating a new Instagram account, for example, using an email associated with an existing profile or even obtaining the device ID. This way, they can make a more accurate decision about who is creating a new profile.
Meta’s AI adult classifier will be able to label accounts suspected of belonging to minors as “teens,” automatically applying all restrictions. Accounts with those restrictions cannot have them removed without prior authorization from a parent. The company promises to provide an appeal tool if it incorrectly labels an account as “teen.” However, there is no date yet for the appeal tool’s availability.
Instagram will ask for valid IDs or AI-powered facial analysis when trying to change age
There may also be cases of teenagers trying to remove restrictions by changing their date of birth. Here, Instagram will ask for a valid government-issued ID. Users will also have the option to upload a selfie video through Yoti’s technology. The latter offers advanced AI-powered recognition services that can even determine a person’s age. Meta has already turned to Yoti to verify the age of users of Facebook’s dating option.
