Meta Halts Teen Access To AI Characters
Meta halts teen access to AI characters, pausing avatars to build PG-rated versions with parental controls, raising regulatory risk for rollouts.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Meta paused teen access to AI characters globally to build a PG-rated version with parental controls.
- Pause applies to users who list teen birthdays and those flagged by age-prediction technology.
- Announcement came amid child-safety trials, highlighting elevated regulatory and legal risk to AI rollouts.
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Meta Platforms said on Jan. 23, 2026, that it will suspend teenagers' access to its AI characters across all its apps starting in the coming weeks. The pause affects conversational avatars while the company develops a PG-13-guided version amid ongoing child-safety trials.
Global Suspension and Scope
Meta will block access to AI characters for users who list a teen birthday or whom its age-prediction technology identifies as teenagers. This applies worldwide across all Meta apps, including Instagram and WhatsApp. The suspension targets AI characters specifically and does not affect Meta’s AI assistant, which will remain available with age-appropriate protections.
New Parental Controls and Content Guardrails
The pause allows Meta to build an updated version of its AI characters for teens, incorporating parental controls that enable parents to monitor or block chats and topics. The new characters will deliver age-appropriate responses on subjects like education, sports, and hobbies.
Content restrictions will follow a PG-13 movie-rating standard, limiting extreme violence, nudity, graphic drug use, and topics related to self-harm, suicide, and eating disorders. Meta plans to integrate earlier teen-focused AI features, including parental-control tools previewed in October 2025 and Instagram AI tailored for younger users, into the redesigned characters.
Regulatory Context and Timing
The announcement comes amid heightened regulatory scrutiny and pending child-harm trials in Los Angeles and New Mexico involving Meta and other platforms. These proceedings reflect increased oversight of teen AI safety. Meta did not disclose any new regulatory filings or approvals linked to the suspension.
The company said the pause will last until the updated teen AI characters are ready for release, but it did not provide a specific timeline.
