Tech • IA • Crypto
Meta scans your photos to determine your age
7/10TL;DR
Under pressure from the European Commission, Meta details its measures to regulate minors’ access to its social networks, at the core of the Digital Services Act requirements.
KEY POINTS
Increased regulatory pressure in Europe
The European Union criticizes Meta for insufficient safeguards for minors on its platforms, notably Instagram. The Digital Services Act imposes strict obligations regarding the protection of young users, pushing the group to justify its practices.
Official ban for under 13s
Meta’s internal policy already prohibits access for users under 13. The company says it has detection mechanisms to identify accounts that violate this rule and remove or restrict them.
Heavily restricted teen accounts
Users identified as between 13 and 17 are moved to “teen accounts.” These profiles are set to private by default, with restrictions on direct messages and screen-time control tools, including notifications after one hour of use.
Parental controls and regulated hours
Features allow parents or guardians to be informed and to impose rest periods, such as a night mode active between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.. The stated goal is to limit excessive exposure and risky interactions.
Automated behavior analysis
To estimate users’ real age, Meta analyzes numerous signals: messages, posts, photos, bios, or interactions. This algorithmic monitoring aims to detect inconsistencies between declared age and observed activity.
Responsibility shifted to app stores
The company believes age verification should be handled upstream by App Stores, which would then transmit this data to applications. Another option mentioned is a centralized European age-verification solution.
Lack of a unified European solution
Despite several initiatives, Europe still lacks an operational system to verify age without massively collecting personal data. Some technologies already exist, notably at Google, but they raise sovereignty concerns.
A political debate seen as misaligned
While several policymakers advocate banning social networks for minors, rules already exist at both European and national levels, notably in France. Their enforcement and effectiveness, however, remain contested.
CONCLUSION
Between regulatory demands, incomplete technical solutions, and shared responsibilities, protecting minors online remains an open challenge at the heart of tensions between platforms and European authorities.