Parents on Instagram, Facebook: Expect a big message from Meta
Amid the second phase of a high-profile child safety trial in New Mexico, Meta is announcing new measures designed to ensure teens on its platforms are subject to age-related protections.
Meta announced in a blog post Tuesday that parents in the U.S. on two of its social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, will receive a notification with details about how to check and confirm their teens' ages on the company's apps.
All users that Meta has identified as a parent, not just adults who supervise a Teen Account, will receive the notification. The notification will include a link to a blog post Meta published a year ago on how to talk to teens about the importance of providing their correct age.
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Meta also announced that age-detection technology will roll out to 27 countries in the European Union and Brazil. Additionally, the technology will apply to U.S. Facebook users for the first time.
In April 2025, Meta began using AI to identify teen users who listed an adult age in their account. The technology re-assigns those users to Meta's Teen Account product, which the company says has more stringent safety protections.
In the fall, independent experts who tested Teen Accounts published a report alleging that the product doesn't work as advertised. Among their findings, the researchers documented instances in which the guardrails failed to prevent inappropriate contact with strangers.
On Tuesday, Meta said that its AI technology would begin to analyze user profiles for "contextual clues" of their age, simplify the process for reporting suspected underage accounts, and strengthen its ability to stop underage users from opening new accounts.
Meta noted in its blog post that it believes lawmakers should require app stores to verify user age and provide that information to apps and developers.
Meta back on trial
Meta lost the first phase of the New Mexico trial in March when a jury found the company liable for misleading consumers about the safety of its platforms and endangering children. The suit was filed by the state's attorney general.
Meta has been ordered to pay the maximum penalties for each violation of New Mexico’s consumer protection laws, amounting to $375 million. The company has said it plans to appeal the decision.
In the bench trial, New Mexico's Department of Justice is seeking injunctive relief requiring Meta to pay additional damages of $3.75 billion and implement specific changes to protect children.
The proposed policies include effective age verification, blocking children under 13, limits on end-to-end messaging encryption for minors, and permanent bans for adult users who engage in or facilitate child exploitation.
Last week, Meta threatened to shut its platforms down in New Mexico in response to the state's demands.
"Many of the requests are technologically or practically infeasible and would essentially force Meta to build entirely separate apps for use only in New Mexico," the company said in its court filing, according to The Guardian. "Therefore, granting onerous relief could compel Meta to entirely withdraw Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp from the state as the only feasible means of compliance."
In court on Monday, Meta's counsel Alex Parkinson reiterated that stance, arguing that granting the state's injunctive relief in full would "genuinely make it untenable to continue offering Meta's products" in New Mexico.
State Attorney General Raul Torrez said that Meta is putting advertising revenue and profit ahead of the "safety of children."
"We know Meta has the ability to make these changes," Torrez said in a statement. "This is not about technological capability."
Rebecca Ruiz is a Senior Reporter at Mashable. She frequently covers mental health, digital culture, and technology. Her areas of expertise include suicide prevention, screen use and mental health, parenting, youth well-being, and meditation and mindfulness. Rebecca's experience prior to Mashable includes working as a staff writer, reporter, and editor at NBC News Digital and as a staff writer at Forbes. Rebecca has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a masters degree from U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.
