Play store
Meta says it will use AI to alert parents if their kids are having trouble on social media, but it’s a solution that some privacy advocates call dangerous.
Meta knows kids are on Instagram, and they know parents might be worried about it, so the company is turning to AI.
Kira Wong O’Connor manages Meta’s Youth Safety policy, and she says the AI can let parents know, if they sign up for alerts, that there “may” be a problem to get humans involved.
“If their teen is discussing suicide or self-harm with Meta AI, and what we do is then we notify a parent if they’re in parental supervision that their teen is discussing these topics,” she said.
It’s a way to use technology to fight back against a big social media related issue. However, privacy advocates say AI watching kids makes an already risky situation even riskier.
“There are so many untold ways this could go wrong, from just a privacy perspective,” Free Press Chief Counsel Nora Benevidez said. “Some of that could be very promising, but in the hands of kids, these AI tools should not be trusted to solve young people’s problems.”
To sign up for parental supervision, parents and their teens will have to sign up on Instagram.
