Meta has launched new AI tools for parents to supervise the topics and conversations their teenage subjects engage with on its virtual assistant across Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram.
Meta explained that a new “Insights” tab will appear within the supervision hub, showing the general topics a teen has been exploring through the chatbot. Categories span a wide range from School, Entertainment, and Lifestyle to Travel, Writing, and Health and Wellbeing, among others.
Meta noted that parents can go further by selecting a topic to reveal its subcategories. Lifestyle, for instance, breaks down into fashion, food, and holidays, while Health and Wellbeing covers fitness, physical health, and mental health.
The feature is currently available in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, and Brazil, with a global rollout expected in the coming weeks.
Meta first tested the feature back in October when it said it was developing new tools to help parents guide their teens through their experiences with the technology. Other features previewed at the time would have allowed parents to block access to specific interactive personas called AI characters or disable them entirely. However, Meta suspended teen access to those characters globally across all its apps in January, saying it planned to develop an updated version specifically for younger users.
For those unfamiliar, Meta’s interactive characters are digital personas with distinct personalities, designed for users to engage with as though they were real people filling specific roles like a chef or as recognisable celebrities, such as Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton.
Meta suspended teens’ access to these characters; the suspension came just days before a lawsuit against the company was set to go to trial in New Mexico, in which Meta was accused of failing to protect minors on its platforms. Meta ultimately lost the case, the first time a court has held the company legally liable for endangering child safety.
That case is one of many lawsuits Meta and other major technology companies are facing over child safety. Given the timing, the decision to halt access to the interactive characters and the move to now inform parents about what their children are discussing online appear closely linked to mounting legal pressure.
Additionally, Meta announced recently that it is giving parents suggested conversation starters designed to help them speak openly and without judgment about their teens’ online experiences. The company also said it is launching a new Wellbeing Expert Council to help shape how its AI products are developed for younger users.
