There is only one way to stop Meta from using artificial intelligence to analyze your kids' faces.
Meta's recent move in the US, Europe, and Brazil has caused a major stir online. In an attempt to comply with regulations concerning minors' use of social media in these countries, the company updated its privacy policy and terms of service to include a new tool. This tool, powered by the company's proprietary artificial intelligence technology, Meta AI, is not reassuring parents of teenagers who use social media; rather, it is raising concerns. And these concerns are justified.
What did Meta do? It announced an AI-powered tool to analyze the faces of teenage users for features that might reveal their age. If the AI detects that a user is under 13, their profile will be locked. If it determines that the user is between 13 and 18, it will apply measures to its algorithm to prevent them from seeing certain types of content.
What's the problem? The AI won't analyze the selfies users send; instead, Meta will use it to analyze the content these teenagers upload. In other words, the Meta AI app will meticulously analyze every photo or video a teenager uploads to categorize it by age.
The truth is, the complaint isn't about the result but the process itself. Meta insists the process is completely safe and that the device doesn't function as facial recognition technology. That is, it can't identify the person; its function is to determine their age based on their facial features and expressions.
According to Meta, if your son Javier uploads a photo and it is analyzed, the AI will not be able to link it to his name or any other information; it will only use his face to guess his age. Nothing more.
Here's what Meta says about the new tool that will soon be available on European, American, and Brazilian profiles: "This technology allows our AI to analyze photos and videos for visual clues about a person's age that text might not reveal. We want to clarify that this is not facial recognition technology. Our AI relies on general characteristics and visual cues, such as height or bone structure, to roughly estimate a person's age; it does not identify the specific person in the photo."
It is unlikely that Meta would use a tool designed to circumvent EU data protection measures on minors, but suspicions will remain, especially since it is affiliated with Mark Zuckerberg's company.
The situation is further complicated by the company's recent scandal. Two months ago, it was revealed that Meta had manually analyzed videos recorded by users in Kenya using Ray-Ban Meta sunglasses, sparking widespread outrage online.
Furthermore, just days ago, the company fired dozens of employees who revealed they had been repeatedly watching sexually explicit videos of users recorded using Ray-Ban Mita sunglasses. Instead of addressing the issue, the company proceeded with the firings and remained silent on the matter.
As a result of all this and the numerous ethical controversies surrounding Meta, parents of teenagers on Instagram and Facebook are worried. Will the tool perform as the company promised?