After Meta agreed to settle the lawsuit for up to $18 billion with US states over allegations involving designing addictive platforms to keep childreān hooked, the company will change how it checks the ages of users on Instagram and Facebook. This agreement was announced on August 26 and it requires Meta to offer stronger protections for users under 18.
How Does Meta Check Users’ Ages Today?
According to Reuters, Meta will be required to strengthen its age-verification systems, particularly for users 13 to 17. The tech giant will take additional steps to examine the networks around accounts suspected of belonging to young children. This may also help Meta to identify accounts where the users’ stated age does not match other information available on the platform.
Reportedly, Meta will also make it easier for people to report accounts they believe belong to children under 13. An independent auditor will be able to review Meta’s efforts to determine whether the company is properly carrying out the required age-checking measures.
This settlement also gives Meta permission to temporarily use certain data from children it identifies to train an AI system designed to detect under 13 users in the future.
No Mandatory Photo ID Or Video Selfie Checks
Despite the stronger age-verification requirements, the settlement does not force Meta to introduce the most aggressive forms of age verification. For example, Facebook and Instagram will not be required to make users upload a government-issued photo ID or record a video selfie simply to prove their age.
This is important because collecting such information from children creates another major issue: privacy. According to the report, the settlement attempts to make age checks stronger while limiting the amount of sensitive personal information Meta would need to collect from young users.
A separate New Mexico case also highlighted this problem. In August, a judge ordered Meta to pay a total of $942 million and introduce stronger protections for young users. The court said that COPPA limited how far it could go in ordering Meta to collect personal information from children for age verification.
The judge therefore ordered Meta to improve age assurance “within the limits of COPPA.” Notably, the latest multi-state settlement follows a similar approach.
The Federal Trade Commission has also offered companies some room to use age-verification technology. In February, the FTC said it would not take enforcement action against companies that collect personal information specifically for the purpose of determining a user’s age.
Meta Will Also Limit Teen Usage
Age verification is only one part of the wider settlement. Meta has agreed to introduce several changes to reduce how much time teenagers spend on Facebook and Instagram. These include a default limit of two hours of daily use and blocking access between midnight and 6 AM, unless parents allow otherwise. Meta will also disable most push notifications for teen users during school hours.
