Meta pauses teen access to AI characters globally as lawsuits and regulatory pressure mount

Meta pauses teen access to AI characters ahead of new version

Meta today said that it is pausing teens' access to its AI characters globally across all its apps. The company mentioned that it is not abandoning its efforts, but wants to develop an updated version of AI characters for teens, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. The move comes days before a case against Meta is set to go on trial in New Mexico, in which the company is accused of a lack of effort in protecting kids from sexual exploitation on its apps. Wired reported Thursday that Meta has sought to limit discovery related to social media's impact on teen mental health, along with stories In October, the company previewed controls for AI characters, allowing parents and guardians to monitor topics and block access to certain characters. Meta said parents would be able to completely turn off chats with AI characters. These features were set to release this year, but the company is now turning off AI characters altogether for teens while it updates the AI characters to a newer version. Meta said that it heard from parents that they wanted more insights and control over their teens' interactions with AI characters, which is why it decided to make these changes. The company has been cracking down on teens' access to AI content in its apps. Also in October, Meta rolled out parental control features on Instagram, focusing on tailoring the teen experience of interacting with AI on its apps. These features, which were inspired by the PG-13 movie rating, restricted teen access to certain topics like extreme violence, nudity, and graphic drug use. "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 given us a teen birthday, as well as people who claim to be adults but who we suspect are teens based on our age prediction technology," the company said in an updated blog post. Meta added that when it rolls out the new AI characters, they will have built-in parental controls. The company said that the new characters will give age-appropriate responses and will stick to topics like education, sport, and hobbies. Social media companies are under heavy scrutiny from regulators. Apart from the aforementioned case in New Mexico, Meta is also facing a trial next week, accusing the platform of causing social media addiction. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to take the witness stand in that case once the trial begins. Besides social platforms, AI companies have had to modify their experience for teens after facing lawsuits alleging to play a part in aiding self-harm. In October, Character.AI, the startup that allows users to chat with various AI avatars, disallowed open-ended conversations with chatbots for users who were under 18. In November, the startup said it would build interactive stories for kids. In the last few months, OpenAI added new teen safety rules for ChatGPT and also started predicting a user's age to apply content restrictions. Correction: This post was updated to clarify there new version of AI characters will be accessible to everyone, not just teens, when it launches. It will include parental controls.

Meta is stopping teens from chatting with its AI characters

Meta is "temporarily pausing" the ability for teens to chat with its AI characters as it develops a "new version" of the characters that will offer a "better experience." The company made the announcement in an update to a blog post from October where the company had detailed more parental controls for teen AI use. The change blocking teens from accessing the characters will go in effect "starting in the coming weeks." According to TechCrunch, "Meta said that it heard from parents that they wanted more insights and control over their teens' interactions with AI characters, which is why it decided to make these changes." The company didn't immediately reply to a request for comment from The Verge. In October, Meta announced that parents would let parents block their teens' access to one-on-one conversations with its AI characters, block their teens from talking with specific AI characters, and share insights with parents on the topics their teens discuss with Meta's AI characters and its AI assistant. The plan was to roll out those controls early this year. With the change announced today, it means that "when we deliver on our promise to give parents more oversight of their teens' AI experiences, those parental controls will apply to the latest version of AI characters." Last year, also in October, Meta changed Instagram teen accounts to allow teens to be able to see content that's reflective of what might be shown in a movie rated for people that are 13 or older.

Meta Blocks Teens From Chatting With Its AI Characters

(Credit: Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Meta is temporarily blocking teenagers from accessing all of its AI characters. The pause, which impacts Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, is set to come into effect in "the coming weeks," though the company didn't give a firm date. In an updated blog post, Meta says that AI characters for teens will return eventually, once they've updated the experience and added improved controls for parents. The company said it will not only look at the age supplied by the user, but will also use its AI-based age prediction technology to ensure teens aren't interacting with the characters. Teens will still be able to access Meta's AI assistant, with default, age-appropriate protections in place. This means it's only character-based roleplaying that is off the table completely. Meta is by no means the first major AI platform to make these types of restrictions on teen use. Character.ai enforced comparable restrictions in November last year, blocking teens from engaging in open-ended conversations with characters. Meanwhile, OpenAI's ChatGPT rolled out tools earlier this week to detect teens' real ages and stop them from accessing inappropriate content, after teasing improved child safety features in September. The move comes as Meta and its rivals are facing strong political scrutiny about the potential harms these AI characters can have on children. In October 2025, four senators introduced the GUARD Act, a bipartisan bill to protect teens from harmful interactions with AI chatbots. The bill would ban AI companions for minors if passed, force AI chatbots to disclose their non-human status, and introduce penalties for companies that make AI for minors which solicits or produces sexual content. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo) alleged that chatbots were developing "relationships with kids using fake empathy" and "encouraging suicide," adding that Congress "has a moral duty to enact bright-line rules to prevent further harm from this new technology." And it's not just political pressure that may be motivating AI giants to roll out new teen-safety protections. Earlier this month, Character.ai and Google chose to settle a lawsuit which accused one of Character.ai's chatbots of contributing to multiple teens self-harming or dying by suicide. Meanwhile, OpenAI and Meta are also both facing comparable lawsuits from teenagers' families. We've seen Meta roll back its AI character offerings before. Less than a year after Meta introduced AI celebrities based on the likes of Kendall Jenner, Snoop Dogg, Tom Brady, they were removed in August 2024.

Meta halts teens' access to AI characters globally

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab said on Friday it will suspend teenagers' access to its existing AI characters across all of its apps worldwide, as it builds an updated iteration of those for teen users. "Starting in the coming weeks, teens will no longer be able to access AI characters across our apps until the updated experience is ready," Meta said in an updated blog post on minors' protection. The new version of characters for teens will come with parental controls once it becomes available. In October, Meta previewed parental controls that allow them to disable their teens' private chats with AI characters, adding another measure to make its social media platforms safe for minors after fierce criticism over the behavior of its flirty chatbots. The company on Friday said that these controls have not been launched yet. Meta had also said that its AI experiences for teens will be guided by the PG-13 movie rating system, as it looks to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content. U.S. regulators have stepped up scrutiny of AI companies over the potential negative impacts of chatbots. In August, Reuters reported how Meta's AI rules allowed provocative conversations with minors. Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; editing by Alan Barona Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Meta pauses teen access to AI characters

Meta is halting teens' access to artificial intelligence characters, at least temporarily, the company said in a blog post Friday. Meta Platforms Inc., which own Instagram and WhatsApp, said that starting in the "coming weeks," teens will no longer be able to access AI characters "until the updated experience is ready" This applies to anyone who gave Meta a birthday that makes them a minor, as well as "people who claim to be adults but who we suspect are teens based on our age prediction technology." The move comes the week before Meta -- along with TikTok and Google's YouTube -- is scheduled to stand trial in Los Angeles over its apps' harms to children. Teens will still be able to access Meta's AI assistant, just not the characters. Other companies have also banned teens from AI chatbots amid growing concerns about the effects of artificial intelligence conversations on children. Character.AI announced its ban last fall. That company is facing several lawsuits over child safety, including by the mother of a teenager who says the company's chatbots pushed her teenage son to kill himself.

Meta is temporarily pulling teens' access from its AI chatbot characters

Meta will no longer allow teens to chat with its AI chatbot characters in their present form. The company announced Friday that it will be "temporarily pausing teens' access to existing AI characters globally." The pause comes months after Meta added chatbot-focused parental controls following reports that some of Meta's character chatbots had engaged in sexual conversations and other alarming interactions with teens. Reuters reported on an internal Meta policy document that said the chatbots were permitted to have "sensual" conversations with underage users, language Meta later said was "erroneous and inconsistent with our policies." The company announced in August that it was re-training its character chatbots to add "guardrails as an extra precaution" that would prevent teens from discussing self harm, disordered eating and suicide. Now, Meta says it will prevent teens from accessing any of its character chatbots regardless of their parental control settings until "the updated experience is ready." The change, which will be starting "in the coming weeks," will apply to those with teen accounts, "as well as people who claim to be adults but who we suspect are teens based on our age prediction technology." Teens will still be able to access the official Meta AI chatbot, which the company says already has "age-appropriate protections in place." Meta and other AI companies that make "companion" characters have faced increasing scrutiny over the safety risks these chatbots could pose to young people. The FTC and the Texas attorney general have both kicked off investigations into Meta and other companies in recent months. The issue of chatbots has also come up in the context of a safety lawsuit brought by New Mexico's attorney general. A trial is scheduled to start early next month; Meta's lawyers have attempted to exclude testimony related to the company's AI chatbots, Wired reported this week.

Meta blocks teens from AI chatbot characters over safety concerns

Meta will temporarily block teens from accessing its AI chatbot characters across all of its apps, the company announced Friday, as it works on a redesigned version that includes parental controls and stronger safety guardrails. The pause applies globally and will roll out "in the coming weeks," according to Meta. Teens will be locked out of all existing AI characters until the updated experience is ready. The move follows months of mounting concern over how Meta's "companion-style" chatbots interact with young users. In earlier reports, some of the company's AI characters were found engaging in sexual or otherwise inappropriate conversations with teens. Meta said the restrictions will apply not only to users who list a teen birthday on their account, but also to "people who claim to be adults but who we suspect are teens based on our age prediction technology." Teens will still be allowed to use Meta's official AI assistant, which the company says already includes age-appropriate protections. The decision comes months after Meta said it was developing chatbot-specific parental controls. That effort gained urgency after a Reuters report revealed that an internal Meta policy document had allowed AI characters to engage in "sensual" conversations with underage users. Meta later said the language was "erroneous and inconsistent with our policies," and in August announced it was retraining its chatbots with new guardrails to prevent discussions around self-harm, suicide, and disordered eating. Since then, scrutiny of AI companions has intensified. The Federal Trade Commission and the Texas Attorney General have both launched investigations into Meta and other AI companies over potential risks to minors. AI chatbots have also become a focal point in a safety lawsuit brought by New Mexico's attorney general. A trial is scheduled to begin early next month. Meta has attempted to exclude testimony related to its AI chatbots, according to reporting by Wired. Meta says parental controls are coming In its official statement, Meta said it is building a "new version of AI characters" designed to give parents more visibility and control over how teens interact with AI. "While we focus on developing this new version, we're temporarily pausing teens' access to existing AI characters globally," the company said. Once the redesigned system launches, Meta says parental oversight tools will apply specifically to the updated AI characters, rather than the current versions. Meta's use of age prediction technology reflects a broader trend across the AI industry. OpenAI recently rolled out its own age prediction system aimed at improving teen safety, using behavioral signals rather than self-reported birthdays to estimate a user's age. The system is designed to apply stricter protections when users are likely under 18. The growing adoption of age-detection tools signals increasing pressure on AI companies to proactively prevent minors from accessing potentially harmful conversational experiences, especially as AI companions become more emotionally engaging and realistic. For now, Meta says teens will retain access to educational and informational features through its main AI assistant, while the company continues developing what it describes as a safer, parent-controlled AI character experience.

Meta's AI characters for teens taken down for upgrades

They call it the Friday news dump -- companies posting embarrassing news on a day the media is least likely to bother covering it. But Meta just took the Friday news dump to a whole new level with this announcement: It's disabled its AI characters for teen accounts, at least until the characters can behave themselves. The news wasn't just dropped on Friday -- it was dropped in an update to a blog post from last October. "We've started building a new version of AI characters, to give people an even better experience," the note from Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram and Alexandr Wang, Chief AI Officer, now reads -- an upgrade Meta has long promised. Then came the part that would give many kids a very un-Rebecca Black Friday. "While we focus on developing this new version, we're temporarily pausing teens' access to existing AI characters globally. 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 given us a teen birthday, as well as people who claim to be adults but who we suspect are teens based on our age prediction technology." The Instagram and Facebook maker wants to stress "it is not abandoning its efforts" on AI characters, according to TechCrunch. Still, this is clearly an admission that something has the potential to go very wrong with the current version of its AI characters, where teen safety and mental health is concerned. Meta isn't alone in this discovery. Character.AI and Google both settled lawsuits this month, brought by multiple parents of children who died by suicide. One was a 14-year-old boy who was in effect groomed and sexually abused, his mother says, by a chatbot based on the Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen. Blasted by a report from online safety experts, Character.AI shut down all chats for under-18 users back in October, two months after Meta simply decided to start training its teen chatbots to not "engage with teenage users on self-harm, suicide, disordered eating, or potentially inappropriate romantic conversations." Evidently, that training wasn't enough. This isn't the first time Meta has had to backtrack on its ambitions for AI character accounts. In 2024, it removed AI personas based on celebrities. In January last year, it took down all its AI character profiles after a backlash over perceived racism. The teen usage problem isn't a small one, either. More than half of teens 13-17 surveyed by Common Sense Media last year said they used AI companions more than once a month. For now, they'll have to do so somewhere other than Meta.

Meta pauses teen access to AI characters

Meta is halting teens' access to artificial intelligence characters, at least temporarily, the company said in a blog post Friday. Meta Platforms Inc., which own Instagram and WhatsApp, said that starting in the "coming weeks," teens will no longer be able to access AI characters "until the updated experience is ready" This applies to anyone who gave Meta a birthday that makes them a minor, as well as "people who claim to be adults but who we suspect are teens based on our age prediction technology." The move comes the week before Meta -- along with TikTok and Google's YouTube -- is scheduled to stand trial in Los Angeles over its apps' harms to children. Teens will still be able to access Meta's AI assistant, just not the characters. Other companies have also banned teens from AI chatbots amid growing concerns about the effects of artificial intelligence conversations on children. Character.AI announced its ban last fall. That company is facing several lawsuits over child safety, including by the mother of a teenager who says the company's chatbots pushed her teenage son to kill himself.

Meta Pauses Teen Access to AI Characters

Meta is halting teens' access to artificial intelligence characters, at least temporarily, the company said in a blog post Friday. Meta Platforms Inc., which own Instagram and WhatsApp, said that starting in the "coming weeks," teens will no longer be able to access AI characters "until the updated experience is ready" This applies to anyone who gave Meta a birthday that makes them a minor, as well as "people who claim to be adults but who we suspect are teens based on our age prediction technology." The move comes the week before Meta -- along with TikTok and Google's YouTube -- is scheduled to stand trial in Los Angeles over its apps' harms to children. Teens will still be able to access Meta's AI assistant, just not the characters. Other companies have also banned teens from AI chatbots amid growing concerns about the effects of artificial intelligence conversations on children. Character.AI announced its ban last fall. That company is facing several lawsuits over child safety, including by the mother of a teenager who says the company's chatbots pushed her teenage son to kill himself.

Meta pauses teen access to AI characters

Meta Platforms Inc., which own Instagram and WhatsApp, said that starting in the "coming weeks," teens will no longer be able to access AI characters "until the updated experience is ready" Meta is halting teens' access to artificial intelligence characters, at least temporarily, the company said in a blog post Friday. Meta Platforms Inc., which own Instagram and WhatsApp, said that starting in the "coming weeks," teens will no longer be able to access AI characters "until the updated experience is ready" This applies to anyone who gave Meta a birthday that makes them a minor, as well as "people who claim to be adults but who we suspect are teens based on our age prediction technology." The move comes the week before Meta - along with TikTok and Google's YouTube - is scheduled to stand trial in Los Angeles over its apps' harms to children. Teens will still be able to access Meta's AI assistant, just not the characters. Other companies have also banned teens from AI chatbots amid growing concerns about the effects of artificial intelligence conversations on children. Character.AI announced its ban last fall. That company is facing several lawsuits over child safety, including by the mother of a teenager who says the company's chatbots pushed her teenage son to kill himself.

Safety First: Meta Halts Teen AI Interactions Across Platforms

Safety Before Scale: Meta Suspends Teen Access to AI Characters Across Instagram and Facebook Meta has taken a significant step to strengthen online safety for minors. In a recent official announcement, the company has stated about halting teenagers' access to AI-powered characters across its social media platforms. The move is implemented across Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger, where AI characters have been introduced as conversational companions. Meta's general AI assistant will remain the same with safeguards, but teens will no longer be able to interact with personalized AI personas until a revised, safer experience is launched. This decision highlights Meta's attempt to respond to the most frequently raised concerns regarding child safety and regulatory policies of AI agents.

Meta pauses teen access to AI characters weeks before trial over...

Meta is halting teens' access to artificial intelligence characters, at least temporarily, the company said in a blog post Friday. Meta Platforms Inc., which own Instagram and WhatsApp, said that starting in the "coming weeks," teens will no longer be able to access AI characters "until the updated experience is ready" This applies to anyone who gave Meta a birthday that makes them a minor, as well as "people who claim to be adults but who we suspect are teens based on our age prediction technology." The move comes the week before Meta -- along with TikTok and Google's YouTube -- is scheduled to stand trial in Los Angeles over its apps' harms to children. Teens will still be able to access Meta's AI assistant, just not the characters. Other companies have also banned teens from AI chatbots amid growing concerns about the effects of artificial intelligence conversations on children. Character.AI announced its ban last fall. That company is facing several lawsuits over child safety, including by the mother of a teenager who says the company's chatbots pushed her teenage son to kill himself.

Meta halts teens' access to AI characters globally

Meta Platforms said on Friday it will suspend teenagers' access to its existing AI characters across all of its apps worldwide, as it builds an updated iteration of those for teen users. "Starting in the coming weeks, teens will no longer be able to access AI characters across our apps until the updated experience is ready," Meta said in an updated blog post on minors' protection. The new version of characters for teens will come with parental controls once it becomes available. In October, Meta previewed parental controls that allow them to disable their teens' private chats with AI characters, adding another measure to make its social media platforms safe for minors after fierce criticism over the behavior of its flirty chatbots. The company on Friday said that these controls have not been launched yet. Meta had also said that its AI experiences for teens will be guided by the PG-13 movie rating system, as it looks to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content. U.S. regulators have stepped up scrutiny of AI companies over the potential negative impacts of chatbots. In August, Reuters reported how Meta's AI rules allowed provocative conversations with minors.

Meta halts teens' access to AI characters globally

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms said on Friday it will suspend teenagers' access to its existing AI characters across all of its apps worldwide, as it builds an updated iteration of those for teen users. "Starting in the coming weeks, teens will no longer be able to access AI characters across our apps until the updated experience is ready," Meta said in an updated blog post on minors' protection. The new version of characters for teens will come with parental controls once it becomes available. In October, Meta previewed parental controls that allow them to disable their teens' private chats with AI characters, adding another measure to make its social media platforms safe for minors after fierce criticism over the behavior of its flirty chatbots. The company on Friday said that these controls have not been launched yet. Meta had also said that its AI experiences for teens will be guided by the PG-13 movie rating system, as it looks to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content. U.S. regulators have stepped up scrutiny of AI companies over the potential negative impacts of chatbots. In August, Reuters reported how Meta's AI rules allowed provocative conversations with minors. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; editing by Alan Barona)