In a move to protect teenagers from online harms and address mounting criticism, tech giant Meta is expanding its AI-powered age estimation technology globally this month. The technology will be implemented initially on Instagram accounts, with plans to extend it to Facebook and Threads later in the year. This automated system will identify users who may be underage even if they provide false birthdates, placing them under Teen Account protections which impose restrictions on contacts, content, and usage time. The company claims that this technology has proven successful in placing more teenagers under age-appropriate safeguards, thus the global rollout. In the United States, parents of Instagram users aged 13 to 17 will receive notifications about these new measures this month. Meta aims to further implement this age estimation algorithm on Facebook and Threads later in the year. The AI technology analyzes user behavior and posts to estimate a person's age, ensuring that underage users are properly categorized regardless of their entered birthdate. Meta has multiple levels of restrictions based on age, with children under 13 barred from using the apps. Teen accounts face daily usage limits, nighttime curfews, and restrictions on "social comparison" features like likes and reactions to other teen accounts. The company has faced numerous legal challenges worldwide due to concerns over its platforms' impact on teenagers, with critics claiming that these platforms are addictive and expose young users to harmful content. In the US, Meta agreed to pay $18 billion to states as part of a settlement addressing these concerns, including improvements in identifying minors and children. The changes include limiting under-18 users to two hours of daily usage and enforcing nighttime curfews, as well as restricting social comparison features and cosmetic procedure filters. Meta has also called upon industry peers TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar practices for the safety of teenagers.