• 2 min read
Meta adds parent alerts for teen self-harm chats
Meta will now alert supervising parents if a teen’s Meta AI chat suggests suicide or self-harm risk. The feature is live in four countries.
Image: 9to5Mac
Meta says parents can now receive alerts when their teens discuss suicide or other forms of self-harm with Meta AI on Instagram, Facebook, or Meta Horizons. The feature requires families to opt in through Meta’s supervision tools and choose which accounts to monitor.
According to the company, the new alerts build on existing safeguards already used in Meta AI chats. If a teen appears to be thinking about suicide or self-harm, Meta AI already points them to crisis helplines and encourages them to contact a parent or another trusted adult, such as a counselor.
Meta said it will now also notify supervising parents when a teen’s chat suggests they may be at risk, using signals developed with experts. The company said it is trying to catch even relatively subtle references, but every flagged chat will be manually reviewed before an alert is sent.
“We understand how distressing these alerts may be for a parent to receive. That’s why, as we continue to improve our detection, all chats flagged by our AI will be manually reviewed before an alert is sent. If a teen’s intent is ambiguous, we’ll err on the side of caution and alert the parent.”
The feature is currently available in the US, Canada, UK and Australia.
Recommended reading
Proton CTO says trust, not features, is the product
Meta also said it plans to extend another existing safety practice to Meta AI: contacting emergency services when a conversation suggests someone may be at imminent risk of taking their own life, whether that person is an adult or a teen. The company said it already does this for Facebook and Instagram posts that show a credible suicide risk, and made more than 19,000 such referrals worldwide last year.
If you’re in immediate danger or need help, the source notes that people in the US can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, chat at 988lifeline.org, call 911, or go to an ER for a mental health emergency.
Security Editor
Sophia unpacks the invisible wars happening on our networks. Covering cybersecurity, privacy legislation, and cryptography, she exposes how our data is weaponized and defended. Before joining for(geeks), she spent years as a penetration tester. She's the reason the rest of the team uses physical security keys.
via 9to5Mac
