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Meta set to introduce a new safety feature that will alert parents in case their teenage children discuss self-harm or suicide with the Instagram AI chatbot.
Meta's current protective tool for teenage users
As of now, when a teenager shows signs of suicide, Meta AI directs them to crisis helplines and encourages them to speak to trusted adults.
The additional protection will inform parents, who have set up the supervision feature for their teens on Instagram, about the concerning information on their own device.
In a blog post published on Thursday, July 16, the tech giant noted, "We understand how distressing these alerts may be for a parent to receive."
The company shared that all alerts will first be manually reviewed before they are sent to parents and in case of "ambiguous" chat, Meta will still alert parents for "caution".
"While that means we may sometimes notify parents when there may not be real cause for concern, we feel this is the right starting point, and we'll continue to monitor to help make sure we're in the right place," the statement added.
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Brand-new feature available in some regions
Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, shared that the new feature is live for users in Canada, the UK the US and Australia.
The feature came after Meta announced in February that parents would be notified if their teenager uses Instagram to search for suicide or self-harm content.
Moreover, the feature has been developed after feedback from more than 75 clinicians.
Meta working to improve protection feature
Meta said it is also building ways to alert emergency services if someone "appears to be at imminent risk of suicide".
The announcement comes a month after the UK government announced a ban on social media for under-16s, expected to come into effect in spring 2027.
