Meta Platforms said today (9 November) it would expand its artificial intelligence-powered age-estimation technology globally to bring millions more teenagers on Instagram under its Teen Account protections, even if they have provided birth dates indicating they are adults.

The move comes as the social media giant faces multiple lawsuits alleging that its platforms harm young users.

Teen Accounts, available on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger, include built-in safeguards that automatically restrict who can contact teenagers, the content they can view and the amount of time they spend on the apps.

Meta said parents in the United States would begin receiving Instagram notifications this month explaining how the platform identifies teenage users and places them under age-appropriate protections.

In Australia, the company has begun using Apple’s age-range signal as an additional method to help determine users’ ages.

Meta said it was continuing to roll out the age-estimation technology on Facebook and would begin introducing similar technology globally on Threads later this year.

The expansion comes amid growing legal pressure on Meta over allegations that its platforms negatively affect the mental health and well-being of children and teenagers.

In August, Meta reached settlements worth up to $18 billion with nearly every US state and territory to resolve lawsuits brought by attorneys general over alleged harm to young users.

Under the agreements, Meta committed to improving its systems for identifying teenagers and children under the age of 13.

Last month, the company also reached a settlement with a teenage plaintiff in a Los Angeles trial examining claims that Instagram and Facebook were designed to be addictive, contributing to mental health problems and an eating disorder.

The trial was seen as an important test of legal claims concerning the potential impact of social media platform design on young users.