The company announced that the technology will analyze photos and videos by examining visible physical features such as a person’s height and bone structure to estimate their age.
Meta clarified that this system is not based on facial recognition technology, but rather on analyzing general body characteristics.
The system will also review posts shared on users’ pages, looking for clues such as school grades or birthday celebration posts that may help determine a user’s age.
If an account is suspected to belong to a child under 13, it will be temporarily suspended until the owner provides valid documents confirming their real age.
The announcement comes shortly after a court in the U.S. state of New Mexico ordered Meta to pay a $375 million fine for misleading the public about the safety of its platforms and exposing children to mental health risks.
At the same time, Meta is expanding its special protections for teenage users. These measures automatically place teen accounts in private mode and limit the number of people who can send them direct messages.
The new system is currently being rolled out on Instagram in 27 countries within the European Union as well as in Brazil.
Meta also plans to introduce the technology on Facebook in the United States for the first time, with expansion to the United Kingdom and the European Union expected in June this year.
