Meta Expands AI Age Verification for US and EU Users

Meta Platforms is expanding AI-powered age assurance measures to identify underage users across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. The company is deploying contextual artificial intelligence to analyze profiles for clues such as school references and utilizing visual analysis technology to estimate age based on general physical characteristics without using facial recognition. These tools are being rolled out for Facebook users in the United States and Instagram users in Brazil and 27 European Union countries, with further expansion to the United Kingdom and EU planned for June.

Users identified as potentially underage must undergo verification or face account removal. Meta is also introducing new parental guidance tools and advocating for age verification to be managed at the operating system or app store level.

The expansion arrives amid intensifying global regulatory pressure regarding teen mental health and online abuse. Simultaneously, the state of New Mexico has asked a judge to declare Meta a public nuisance and is seeking $3.7 billion in fines to force an overhaul of youth protections. Critics have argued that these safety measures serve as a pretext for increased data collection and pointed to the company's history of poor compliance with age laws in Australia.