Meta has said it is expanding technology to proactively find Instagram account holders it suspects to be teens to the EU and Brazil.
The previously announced system finds potential under age accounts, even if they list an adult birthday, and places them in Teen Accounts.
Meta is also expanding the technology to Facebook in the US for the first time, with the UK and EU to follow in June.
The company said it is using AI technology to analyse entire profiles for contextual clues to determine if an account likely belongs to someone underage.
In a newsroom post, Meta said: “Last year we announced technology that is designed to proactively find accounts we suspect to be teens, even if they list an adult birthday, and place them in Teen Account protections.”
“We successfully launched this technology on Instagram in the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK – placing millions of accounts into these age-appropriate protections. Now we are expanding our use of this technology to 27 countries in the EU and Brazil,” it added.
Last week, the European Commission issued a preliminary finding against Meta for allegedly failing to prevent minors under 13 from using Instagram and Facebook.
The Commission said shortcomings in Meta’s operating system are in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA).
It said the company had failed to “diligently identify, assess and mitigate the risks of minors under 13 years old accessing their services”.
Meta said it disagreed with the preliminary findings.
“We’re clear that Instagram and Facebook are intended for people aged 13 and older and we have measures in place to detect and remove accounts from anyone under that age,” a spokesperson said.
