Meta's AI will analyze bone structure to determine your age
What's the story
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced a new artificial intelligence (AI) initiative. The company plans to use this technology to analyze photos and videos for visual clues such as height or bone structure. The goal is to determine if a user is under 13 years old and should be removed from its platforms.
Technology
Clarification on facial recognition
In a blog post, Meta clarified that its new AI system doesn't involve facial recognition. Instead, it looks at general themes and visual cues to estimate a person's age. The company said this approach can significantly improve its ability to identify and remove underage accounts. The visual analysis system is currently operational in select countries with plans for wider deployment in the future.
Safety measures
AI analyzing entire profiles
Meta's new AI system is just one part of a larger effort to keep kids under 13 off its platforms. The company also uses AI to analyze entire profiles for contextual clues such as birthday celebrations or mentions of school grades. These signals are looked for across multiple formats such as posts, comments, bios, captions, and more.
Expansion plans
Account deactivation for suspected underage users
Meta plans to expand its new AI system across more parts of its apps, including Instagram Live and Facebook Groups. If the company suspects a user is underage, it will deactivate their account. The user would then have to prove their age through Meta's age verification process to prevent account deletion. This comes after a New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million for misleading consumers about platform safety.
Feature
Stricter teen accounts on Instagram
Along with the AI initiative, Meta is also expanding its technology which automatically places teens into stricter "Teen Accounts" on Instagram. The company is rolling out this facility to 27 countries in the EU and Brazil. These accounts provide a stricter experience with extra safeguards like receiving DMs only from people they follow or are already connected to, hiding harmful comments, and setting accounts private by default.