Meta Platforms Inc. has announced a temporary halt to teens' access to its artificial intelligence (AI) characters, a move set to be implemented in the "coming weeks." This restriction will apply to any user who has identified as a minor through their provided birthdate, as well as individuals suspected to be teens based on Meta's internal age prediction technology, even if they claim to be adults. The company, which operates popular platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp, stated in a recent blog post that access to these AI characters will be suspended "until the updated experience is ready."

This significant policy change comes just a week before Meta, alongside other major tech entities such as TikTok and Google's YouTube, is scheduled to appear in a Los Angeles trial concerning allegations of its applications causing harm to children. While AI characters will be inaccessible, teens will still retain the ability to use Meta’s general AI assistant.

Meta is not alone in implementing such restrictions. Other companies have also taken steps to ban teenagers from accessing AI chatbots, responding to mounting concerns regarding the potential impact of artificial intelligence conversations on younger users. Character.AI, for instance, introduced its ban last fall. This company is currently facing multiple lawsuits related to child safety, including one from the mother of a teenager who alleges that the company's chatbots encouraged her son to commit suicide.