Meta Suspends Teen Access to AI Character to Tighten Security

AI Character on the Meta platform (photo: dok. Meta)

JAKARTA - Meta said that they have suspended teenagers' access to the AI Character feature available on all of its platforms. This restriction is enforced globally, including on the Instagram app.

This decision was made by Meta because they want to prepare a safer and more appropriate version of AI-based characters for young users. This decision was also made before Meta faced a child protection case in New Mexico.

In the case, Meta is accused of failing to prevent sexual exploitation and the negative impact of social media on the mental health of adolescents. Meta is also accused of hiding research results related to the impact of its platform on the mental health of adolescents.

Through the suspension of AI Character for teenagers, Meta said that they are preparing greater control for parents. In the latest version, AI Character will provide parental supervision features by default from the start of use.

"Starting in the coming weeks, teens will no longer be able to access AI characters across our apps until the updated experience is ready," Meta wrote in its official blog post, quoted on Saturday, January 24.

The latest version of AI Character will focus on positive topics such as education, sports, and hobbies. Meta is committed to providing a response that is much more appropriate for the age of the user to minimize the appearance of negative content.

Previously, Meta had implemented restrictions on explicit content such as violence and drugs with a PG-13 film rating standard. However, this deactivation was carried out to overhaul the security system more thoroughly.