Meta to Launch New AI Parental Controls for Teens Amid Safety Concerns
Meta to Launch New AI Parental Controls for Teens Amid Safety Concerns
In a significant move to address growing concerns over digital safety, Meta has announced a new suite of parental controls designed to manage how teenagers interact with artificial intelligence (AI) characters across its platforms. The new features are scheduled to roll out early next year, granting parents more direct oversight of their teens’ AI experiences.
According to a joint statement from Instagram head Adam Mosseri and Meta’s new AI chief, Alexandr Wang, the tools are intended to offer parents “some peace of mind” while allowing teens to leverage the benefits of AI safely.
The upcoming controls will provide parents with several practical options. They can choose to disable conversations with AI characters entirely for their teens or, for more selective supervision, block access to specific AI personalities.
However, the main Meta AI assistant will be a notable exception and will remain accessible. The company clarified that the assistant will “remain available to offer helpful information and educational opportunities,” operating with default, age-appropriate protections to keep teens safe.
To further empower parents and encourage dialogue, the platform will provide “insights” into the topics teens are discussing with AI characters. These high-level summaries will not reveal the full content of the chats, but are designed to help parents have thoughtful conversations with their teens about their AI interactions.
This announcement comes as Meta continues to face scrutiny over the impact of its platforms on younger users. It follows another major update from earlier this week, which restricted teen accounts on Instagram to PG-13 rated content-a standard that will now also apply to all AI chats.
The initial rollout of the parental controls will begin on Instagram for English-speaking users in the United States, U.K., Canada, and Australia, with Meta stating that it plans to expand the features to its other platforms in the future.
