Teens Can Say Goodbye to AI Characters on Meta

Meta is halting teens' access to artificial intelligence characters, at least temporarily, the company said in an updated blog post on Friday. Meta Platforms Inc., which own Instagram and WhatsApp, said that starting in the "coming weeks," teens will no longer be able to access AI characters, "until the updated experience is ready," per the AP. This applies to anyone who gave Meta a birthday that makes them a minor, as well as "people who claim to be adults but who we suspect are teens based on our age prediction technology."

The move comes the week before Meta—along with TikTok and Google's YouTube—is scheduled to stand trial in Los Angeles over its apps' harms to children. Teens will still be able to access Meta's AI assistant, just not the characters. Other companies have also banned teens from AI chatbots amid growing concerns about the effects of artificial intelligence conversations on children. Character.AI announced its ban last fall.