A new feature allows parents to monitor their teen’s discussions with Meta’s AI Assistant on Facebook, Messenger, or Instagram. Parents can access conversation topics through a Teen Account parental supervision tool announced by Meta. The tool offers insights into broader topics like school, entertainment, writing, health, and wellbeing, with further but limited details available. The feature covers the past seven days of exchanges and is part of Meta’s safety measures under legal and media scrutiny.
Meta has faced trials about child safety protections and its products’ allegedly addictive design, both of which it plans to appeal. Evidence showed internal awareness of the potential for AI characters to have inappropriate interactions, prompting recent lockdowns on these characters for teens. A Meta spokesperson confirmed AI characters are currently paused for teens, with ongoing development of parental controls.
Additionally, Meta collaborated with the Cyberbullying Research Center to provide conversation starters about AI chatbot use and established an AI Wellbeing Expert Council for input on teen experiences with AI. This council includes experts affiliated with organizations focusing on youth well-being and suicide prevention.