Meta to Launch Parental Controls for AI Chatbots on Instagram
MENLO PARK,โ Calif.- โMeta โฃannounced โฃtodayโ it isโค developingโ new supervision controls for instagram thatโ will allow parents to manage their teens’ access to AI chatbots.The tools,โ slated for rollout in the US,โ UK, Canada, and Australia early next year, will offer varying โlevels of restriction, from โcompletely blocking access to all AI chatbots โขto blocking specific AI characters. Parents will also gain insight into the topics theirโ childrenโ are discussing with โMeta’s AI bots.
The move comes amid heightened scrutiny following the leak of anโข internalโข Meta โdocument revealing its chatbots were capable of engaging โin inappropriate conversations with minors.The document detailed instances of โchatbots offering suggestive responses to young users, includingโ one example where a chatbot told anโ eight-year-old, “every inch of you โขis a masterpiece – a treasure I cherish deeply.”
In response toโค the outcry, Meta began โretraining its AI models and โขimplementingโค initial safeguards โshortly after the document surfaced. These included limiting teen interactions to a curated selection of age-appropriate AI characters and guiding AIโ responses โขbased on PG-13 movie ratings.The new parental controls represent a further step in addressing concerns raised by 44 US Attorneys General, who urged AI companies to protect children โข”from exploitation by predatory artificial intelligence โproducts,”โค and an ongoingโฃ inquiry by the Senate โฃCommittee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, chaired by senator Josh Hawley (R-MO).
while the new controls will allow for complete blocking ofโข AI chatbot access, teens will still be โคable to useโค the โฃgeneral Metaโค AI chatbot even โคif their parents restrictโข access to individual โAI characters. Meta notes that the user interface for these tools is still under development and subject to change.
