Meta also agreed to make changes for teenage users of Facebook and Instagram nationwide, including ‌daily usage limits and nighttime blocks, court papers show. File
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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
| Photo Credit: File photo

Since the numbers on Downdetector are based on user-submitted reports, the ‌actual number of affected ​users may vary. File
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Meta on Friday, Jan. 23, informed that it is halting teens’ access to its artificial intelligence (AI) characters worldwide across all its apps. 

In a blog post, the owner of WhatsApp and Instagram said that this will start in the “coming weeks” and teenagers will no longer be allowed to access its AI characters “until the updated experience is ready”

“Starting in the coming weeks, teens will no longer be able to access AI characters across our apps until the updated experience is ready. This will apply to anyone who has given us a teen birthday, as well as people who claim to be adults but who we suspect are teens based on our age prediction technology,” read the post from Meta.

The new version of AI characters for teens will have built-in parental controls once it is made available. It stated that the new characters will provide age-appropriate responses, sticking to topics like education, sport, and hobbies.

As per The Associated Press, teens will continue to have access to Meta’s AI assistant, but not the characters. This comes the week before Meta, along with Google’s YouTube and TikTok, is expected to stand trial in Los Angeles over the apps’ possible harm to children. A case against Meta is also scheduled to go to trial in New Mexico, wherein the company has been accused of not making an effort to protect children from sexual exploitation on its apps, according to TechCrunch.

In October last year, Meta previewed parental controls that allowed parents and guardians to disable their teens’ private chats with AI characters. While these features were expected to release this year, the company has now decided to turn off AI characters altogether for teens as it updates them to a newer version.

Meta informed that it heard from parents, who sought more insights and control over their children’s interaction with AI characters. This is why the company decided to make these changes.

According to Reuters, Meta said that its AI experiences for teens will be guided by the PG-13 movie rating system, as the company wants to prevent minors from getting access to inappropriate content. US regulators are scrutinising AI companies for the potential negative impacts of chatbots.

In recent times, other companies have also banned teens from gaining access to AI chatbots over growing concerns about the effects of AI conversations on them. Character.AI announced its ban in October last year. The startup allows users to chat with various AI avatars. Also, OpenAI has added new teen safety rules for ChatGPT.

Also Read: Altman Raises Concerns Over Tesla Autopilot Deaths After Musk Warns Against Use Of ChatGPT

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, recently shared a harrowing experience during an interview with Joe Rogan, revealing that he was once at risk of being sentenced to death in Pakistan due to content posted on Facebook. This startling admission came amid ongoing legal battles between Meta and the Pakistani government, which has accused the platform of allowing content that violates the country’s strict blasphemy laws.

Power of Pakistan

pic.twitter.com/V4qokhbq76

— Kreately.in (@KreatelyMedia) February 11, 2025

Zuckerberg’s comments shed light on the complex and often fraught relationship between global tech platforms and local governments. In this case, a specific incident involving a user-posted image, which had a drawing of Prophet Mohammed, sparked a lawsuit against Zuckerberg, with the Pakistani government seeking to hold him personally responsible for the alleged blasphemy. Although Zuckerberg expressed little concern for his own safety, acknowledging that he had no intention of visiting Pakistan, the experience highlighted the broader challenges faced by Meta and other global platforms as they navigate the intersection of free speech and local regulations.

As Zuckerberg explained, “There are places around the world that just have different values that go against our free expression values and want us to crack down and ban way more stuff than I think a lot of people would believe would be the right thing to do.” This sentiment reflects the tension between Meta’s commitment to free expression and the varying cultural norms and laws that govern online content around the world.

The issue is particularly pronounced in Pakistan, where blasphemy laws can result in severe penalties, including imprisonment or even death. The legal system in Pakistan has historically been used to target individuals and organisations accused of violating these laws. In this context, Zuckerberg’s comments underscore the need for a nuanced approach to content regulation, one that balances respect for local cultural norms with the principles of free expression.

Moreover, Zuckerberg’s remarks highlight the role of government influence in shaping the online landscape. He argued that foreign governments exerting pressure on American tech companies requires stronger support from the US government. As he noted, the “power of saying they’re going to throw you in prison” is a level of pressure that necessitates protection for tech companies.

Meta’s experience in Pakistan is not an isolated incident. Meta has had its own share of legal challenges regarding its content that some governments deem harmful, offensive, or illegal.
 

Meta has agreed to pay President Donald Trump $25 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit he filed claiming he was wrongfully censored by Facebook and Instagram after the US Capitol riot, the company said Wednesday.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the settlement of the suit brought against Meta and its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, in what was seen as a victory for Trump.

According to people familiar with the agreement, the Journal said, $22 million of the payment will go towards funding Trump’s future presidential library, with the remainder covering legal fees and payments to other plaintiffs in the case.

Meta in the settlement will not admit wrongdoing over the suspensions of Trump’s accounts.

A spokesperson for Meta confirmed the settlement to AFP.

Trump had widely criticized social media platforms for suspending his accounts after the January 6, 2021 insurrection by his supporters, and comments he made that were seen as praising people engaged in the violence.

But he has recently courted tech titans including Zuckerberg and X owner Elon Musk, both of whom attended Trump’s presidential inauguration last week in Washington.

Zuckerberg has expressed support for Trump, and he has tweaked Meta’s policies to lift restrictions on some content within the company’s apps, which include Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp.

Meta would be “restoring free expression on our platforms,” Zuckerberg, who reportedly dined with Trump at his Florida estate in November, said this month in announcing a rollback of fact-checking operations.

The settlement is the latest bow by media corporations as they gird for a second Trump presidency.

In December, ABC News agreed to pay a $15 million settlement payment to resolve a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump stemming from on-air comments about him made by a top anchor.

Earlier Wednesday Meta reported its net income soared by 59 percent to $62.36 billion for the full year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

In a respite for Mark Zuckerberg-run Meta, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Thursday stayed the five-year ban imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on WhatsApp for its data-sharing practices.

The NCLAT bench, led by Justice Ashok Bhushan, said such a ban could disrupt WhatsApp’s business model in the country. WhatsApp has more than 500 million monthly active users in India.

The appellate tribunal also directed Meta to deposit 50 per cent of the Rs 213 core penalty imposed by the CCI, within two weeks.

The social media giant has already paid 25 per cent of the fine.

Last week, the NCLAT had reserved its order on a plea by Meta and WhatsApp seeking a stay on the CCI order that imposed a penalty of Rs 213 crore for “abuse of dominant position”.

According to the tribunal, the upcoming data protection law in India could address concerns related to data privacy.

WhatsApp’s 2021 Privacy Policy allows for user data to be shared with group cos like Meta, and Insta without an “opt out” option.

Earlier this month, social media platform Meta moved the NCLAT against the CCI order. In November last year, the competition watchdog directed WhatsApp to not share user data collected on its platform with other Meta products or companies for advertising purposes for a period of five years, along with imposing a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore on Meta for allegedly abusing its dominant position.

Meta informed the NCLAT that the CCI order has wide ramifications for the industry as a whole and therefore, an urgent hearing in the matter will be required.

Last year, after the CCI directed WhatsApp not to share user data collected on its platform with other Meta products or companies for advertising purposes for a period of five years, the social media platform said it disagreed with the CCI’s decision and planned to appeal.

The CCI began a probe in March 2021 into WhatsApp’s revised privacy policy, which enabled mandatory data sharing with Facebook (now Meta) and its companies, along with an expanded scope of data collection.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Meta plans to dismiss approximately 3,600 employees identified as low performers and replace them with new hires, according to an internal memo reported by Bloomberg on Tuesday.

The company, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, confirmed to AFP that CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision will affect five percent of its workforce.

Meta had approximately 72,400 employees as of September.

“I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster,” Zuckerberg said.

The CEO said the performance-based cuts are intended to ensure that the company has the “strongest talent” and is able to “bring new people in.”

Performance-based dismissals are a common practice among major US corporations. Microsoft announced similar cuts last week affecting less than one percent of its workforce, Business Insider reported.

The layoffs come amid broader changes at Meta, in advance of Donald Trump returning to the White House on January 20.

Zuckerberg has recently aligned more closely with conservative ideas and political figures, including having dinner meetings with Trump and nominating a Republican as Meta’s head of public affairs.

Last week, Zuckerberg announced the end of the company’s US fact-checking program that aimed to combat misinformation on its platforms. The program had faced criticism from conservative voices who viewed it as censorship.

Under the new system, users will be able to add context to posts, similar to features on X, formerly Twitter, and championed by Elon Musk, the platform’s owner.

The company has also scaled back its diversity initiatives and relaxed content moderation rules on Facebook and Instagram, particularly regarding certain forms of hostile speech.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Meta scrapped its fact-checking program in US. (File photo)