Meta says its changing the way it trains AI chatbots to prioritize teen safety, a spokesperson exclusively told TechCrunch, following an investigative report on the company’s lack of AI safeguards for minors.
The company says it will now train chatbots to no longer engage with teenage users on self-harm, suicide, disordered eating, or potentially inappropriate romantic conversations.
Meta spokesperson Stephanie Otway acknowledged that the company’s chatbots could previously talk with teens about all of these topics in ways the company had deemed appropriate. Meta now recognizes this was a mistake.
“As our community grows and technology evolves, we’re continually learning about how young people may interact with these tools and strengthening our protections accordingly,” said Otway. “As we continue to refine our systems, we’re adding more guardrails as an extra precaution — including training our AIs not to engage with teens on these topics, but to guide them to expert resources, and limiting teen access to a select group of AI characters for now. These updates are already in progress, and we will continue to adapt our approach to help ensure teens have safe, age-appropriate experiences with AI.”
Beyond the training updates, the company will also limit teen access to certain AI characters that could hold inappropriate conversations. Some of the user-made AI characters that Meta makes available on Instagram and Facebook include sexualized chatbots such as “Step Mom” and “Russian Girl.” Instead, teen users will only have access to AI characters that promote education and creativity, Otway said.
The policy changes are being announced just a two weeks after a Reuters investigation unearthed an internal Meta policy document that appeared to permit the company’s chatbots to engage in sexual conversations with underage users. “Your youthful form is a work of art,” read one passage listed as an acceptable response. “Every inch of you is a masterpiece – a treasure I cherish deeply.” Other examples showed how the AI tools should respond to requests for violent imagery or sexual imagery of public figures.
Meta says the document was inconsistent with its broader policies, and has since been changed – but the report has sparked sustained controversy over potential child safety risks. Shortly after the report released, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) launched an official probe into the company’s AI policies. Additionally, a coalition of 44 state attorneys general wrote to a group of AI companies including Meta, emphasizing the importance of child safety and specifically citing the Reuters report. “We are uniformly revolted by this apparent disregard for children’s emotional well-being,” the letter reads, “and alarmed that AI Assistants are engaging in conduct that appears to be prohibited by our respective criminal laws.”
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Otway declined to comment on how many of Meta’s AI chatbot users are minors, and wouldn’t say whether the company expects its AI user base to decline as a result of these decisions.
