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Meta Deploys AI To Detect Underage Users On Facebook And Instagram

Meta is deploying AI tools to identify underage users across Facebook and Instagram. Advanced visual analysis is used to examine photos and videos for indicators such as physical proportions and movement patterns, allowing systems to estimate age without relying on facial recognition.

Innovative AI Measures For Age Verification

According to the company, detection relies on general visual signals rather than individual biometric identification. Visual analysis is combined with text-based signals and patterns of user interaction to improve the identification of accounts that may belong to underage users. Integration of multiple data points is intended to strengthen enforcement of age-related policies while avoiding direct biometric tracking.

Expanding The AI Deployment

Initial rollout began in selected regions, with plans for broader global expansion. Current capabilities focus on static and recorded content, while future updates are expected to extend analysis to live and interactive features, including Instagram Live and Facebook Groups. Expansion into additional formats aims to increase coverage of user activity across platforms.

Enforcement And User Accountability

Accounts identified as potentially underage may be temporarily deactivated. Affected users are required to complete an age verification process to restore access. This system is designed to apply platform rules more consistently while maintaining user accountability.

Context Amid Legal Challenges

Growing legal scrutiny has increased pressure on large technology companies to strengthen child safety measures. A jury in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $375 million in a civil case related to child protection concerns and alleged misrepresentation. The case forms part of broader regulatory attention to how platforms manage user safety and content oversight.

Enhanced Controls With Teen Accounts

Meta is also expanding stricter default settings for younger users through its “Teen Accounts” feature on Instagram. Safeguards include limitations on direct messaging, proactive filtering of potentially harmful content, and default privacy settings. Rollout currently covers 27 countries across the EU and Brazil, with similar measures planned for Facebook in the U.S., the U.K. and the EU.

A New Twitter-Inspired Social Network Is Taking Shape

A new social network called Twitter.now is entering the market, with a founding team that includes former Twitter trademark counsel Stephen Coates. The service is being developed by startup Operation Bluebird.

As Ars Technica reported, X sued the company last year and asked a Delaware judge to block the launch. Operation Bluebird argued in a petition that X had abandoned trademarks including “Twitter” and “Tweet.”

Coates has said the project is not an attempt to recreate the original Twitter. In a LinkedIn post, he described the platform as a new public space focused on trust, transparency and user choice.

AI System To Rate Posts

Twitter.now is currently being tested, with early access priced at $20. Its main feature is VERA, an AI system designed to evaluate posts, verify claims and provide sources and context.

Posts receive a trust score, with users eventually able to set a minimum score to filter their feeds. The company says this approach will give people more control over what they see instead of leaving those decisions entirely to an algorithm.

Moderation Remains A Challenge

Scaling moderation will be one of the platform’s biggest tests. Social networks have repeatedly struggled with content moderation as their communities grow, and newer platforms such as Bluesky have faced similar criticism.

Operation Bluebird says VERA will form the basis of its moderation and verification system. A second version is already planned, with expanded tools that would let users set a specific trust threshold for the posts appearing in their feeds.

For now, Twitter.now remains in an early testing phase, combining the familiarity of the Twitter name with an AI-driven approach to evaluating online information.

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