Meta rolls out self-harm alerts for teen accounts
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The news: Meta Platforms will alert parents if their children discuss suicide or self-harm with Meta AI and is exploring ways to contact emergency services if it detects an imminent risk.
The details: Meta said it was rolling out new protections to support families when teens have “sensitive conversations” with its AI tool. In Australia, the measures are live for users aged 16 and 17 with Teen Accounts.
Parents can already see the topics their teen has discussed with Meta AI. The alerts sit alongside a separate Instagram feature that notifies parents when a supervised teen account repeatedly searches for suicide or self-harm terms.
The context: The measures come as Meta faces growing regulatory scrutiny over the harm its platforms may cause children.
Last week, the European Commission issued preliminary findings that Facebook and Instagram had failed to mitigate risks from addictive design features, and said parental controls were too difficult to use.
In September, the US Federal Trade Commission opened a fact-finding inquiry into how Meta and other chatbot providers assess their products’ effects on children and mitigate harm.
The source: Meta Platforms
