Meta is now expanding its parental notifications that appear when teens search for content related to suicide and self-harm. After adding the alerts to Instagram earlier this year, the company is now rolling out similar capabilities to parents who supervise teens with Facebook accounts, as well as chats with its AI assistant.
With the update, Meta will notify parents if their teen "repeatedly" searches for self-harm content "within a short period of time." Likewise, if a teen chats with Meta AI in a way that "suggests they may be at risk of suicide or self-harm," parents will also be notified.
The company is intentionally vague about what the exact criteria are for triggering these notifications. It previously said it "chose a threshold that requires a few searches within a short period of time, while still erring on the side of caution" and that it hoped to "avoid sending these notifications unnecessarily." Should a teen meet that threshold, parents receive an alert via text, email or WhatsApp, and a push notification in their own app. The alerts don't detail the specific search terms or contents of Meta AI chats, but recommend that parents speak with their teens. It also provides resources for helplines.
The feature is part of Meta's push to enroll teens into parent-supervised "teen accounts" that give caregivers more control over teens' privacy settings. The accounts are also meant to limit teens' ability to see sensitive content, including self-harm-related posts, and interact with adults.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available.
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