Meta has announced a global pause on teenagers' access to its AI characters across all of its apps. This decision comes just days before a trial is set to begin in New Mexico, where the company faces allegations of failing to adequately protect children from sexual exploitation on its platforms. Recent reports also indicate that Meta has attempted to limit legal discovery concerning social media's impact on teen mental health.

Back in October, the company introduced previews of controls for AI characters, designed to let parents and guardians monitor topics and block access to specific characters. Meta stated that parents would have the option to completely disable chats with these AI features. Although these tools were scheduled to launch this year, the company is now temporarily disabling AI characters for teens entirely while it works on updating them to a newer version. According to Meta, feedback from parents expressing a desire for greater insight and control over their teens' interactions with AI characters prompted these adjustments. The move is part of a broader effort by Meta to restrict teen exposure to AI-generated content within its apps.

Also in October, Meta introduced parental control features on Instagram, aimed at customizing the teen experience with AI on its platforms. Inspired by the PG-13 movie rating system, these features limit teen access to content involving extreme violence, nudity, and graphic drug use.

In an updated blog post, the company explained, "Starting in the coming weeks, teens will no longer be able to access AI characters across our apps until the updated experience is ready. This will apply to anyone who has provided a teen birthday, as well as individuals who claim to be adults but are identified as likely teens through our age prediction technology." Meta added that the new AI characters, once released, will come with built-in parental controls. These updated characters are designed to provide age-appropriate responses and focus on topics such as education, sports, and hobbies.

Social media companies are currently facing significant regulatory scrutiny. Beyond the New Mexico case, Meta is also preparing for a trial next week where it is accused of contributing to social media addiction. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify once that trial begins.

It's not just social platforms under pressure; AI companies have also adjusted their offerings for younger users following lawsuits alleging their role in facilitating self-harm. In October, Character.AI, a startup that enables users to chat with various AI avatars, prohibited open-ended conversations with its chatbots for users under 18. The following month, the startup announced plans to develop interactive stories for children. More recently, OpenAI has implemented new teen safety guidelines for ChatGPT and begun using age prediction to enforce content restrictions.

Correction: This post has been updated to clarify that the new version of AI characters will be available to all users, not just teens, upon launch. It will include parental control features.