Meta will increase safety precautions for Facebook users in the US and minors in Europe

As regulators put pressure on the US tech giant to better protect youth online. Meta announced on Tuesday that it will expand safeguards for teen accounts to 27 EU nations and Facebook in the US.

In light of increased worries about online abuse, teen mental health, and the spread of AI-generated imagery of child sexual assault. Authorities around the world are challenging tech businesses in general to offer stronger age verification mechanisms.

While the US state of New Mexico requested a judge on Monday to declare Meta a public nuisance, punish it $3.7 billion, and mandate that it change its platforms to safeguard young users. European nations are making significant efforts to limit minors’ access to social media.

Last year, Meta deployed technology to proactively locate accounts it suspects belong to teenagers. Even if they list an adult birthdate, and incorporated them into teen account protections.

“This technology will be rolled out to 27 countries in the European Union. Meta is also expanding this technology to Facebook in the United States for the first time, with the UK and the EU following in June,” the company said in a blog post.

It also detailed its use of advanced artificial intelligence to detect accounts belonging to minors beyond simple age disclosures.

This includes using AI technology to analyze complete profiles for contextual clues to determine if an account likely belongs to someone under 18. Strengthen circumvention measures to prevent new accounts from users Meta suspects are minors.