In a move to enhance online safety for younger users, Meta has announced a new suite of parental control features designed to help parents monitor and manage how teens interact with AI characters across its platforms. The features, scheduled for release next year, will allow parents to block specific AI characters, monitor conversation topics, and even disable AI chats entirely for their teens.

According to the company, parents will soon have the ability to turn off chats between teens and Meta’s AI characters. However, this restriction will not affect the Meta AI chatbot, the company’s general-purpose virtual assistant, which is designed to engage only in age-appropriate conversations.
For those seeking more selective control, Meta will also allow parents to block individual characters rather than all AI interactions. Additionally, parents will gain access to insights about the topics their teens discuss with Meta AI, offering greater visibility and oversight.

The rollout of these controls will begin on Instagram early next year, initially available in English across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

Earlier this week, Meta also announced that its AI content for teens would adhere to a PG-13 rating standard, explicitly avoiding discussions involving extreme violence, nudity, or drug use. The company confirmed that teens are currently limited to interacting with a restricted selection of AI characters designed with age-appropriate guidelines.

Parents will also have the option to set time limits for AI interactions, part of Meta’s ongoing efforts to promote healthy online behavior. In addition, Instagram recently revealed that it now employs AI-driven tools to detect users attempting to bypass age restrictions on the app.

The announcement aligns with a broader industry trend. In recent weeks, OpenAI, Meta, and YouTube have all launched new safety tools aimed at protecting teenagers online. These developments come amid increasing scrutiny of social media’s impact on teen mental health and a series of lawsuits alleging that AI technologies contributed to teen suicides.

Meta’s latest move underscores its growing commitment to ensuring that as AI becomes more integrated into everyday social media use, teen safety remains a top priority.

Source: Techcrunch