from Hacker News

Meta testing new ways to corral teens into teen accounts, if they lie about age

by cormorant on 9/17/24, 8:59 PM with 10 comments

• by mikequinlan on 9/17/24, 10:32 PM

  It says that teens will but put into "private accounts that can be messaged, tagged or mentioned only by people they already follow".

  Is there a way that I, too, can have a private account that can only be messaged, tagged, or mentioned by people that I already follow? I am not a teen and don't want to be falsely classified as a teen but I would very much like to have that kind of account.

• by cormorant on 9/17/24, 8:59 PM

  Full headline (too long for HN): "Instagram to automatically put teens into private accounts with increased restrictions and parental controls"

  Sub-head: "Meta says it’s testing new ways to corral all teens into the accounts, even if they lie about their ages."

  Several paragraphs discuss AI-based "age-prediction tools". Excerpt:

  > The age prediction tools, scheduled to go into testing in the U.S. early next year, will scrutinize behavioral signals such as when an account was created, what kind of content and accounts it interacts with, and how the user writes. Those who Meta deems could be teens will then be asked to verify their ages.

• by EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK on 9/17/24, 11:08 PM

  They can deduce age from their vocabulary, no cap.