FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM’S parent company is set to tell an Oireachtas committee that it believes that responsibility for verifying the age of users should rest with app stores.

The Oireachtas Committee on Children is due to meet today to discuss the protection of children in the use of artificial intelligence.

Representatives from Meta (Facebook and Instagram), TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) are scheduled to attend the committee.

Meta will tell TDs and senators that it believes in freedom of expression while also wanting its social media platforms to be safe places for young people.

It will outline that AI is used to reduce the volume of harmful online content on Facebook and Instagram, such as by identifying fake accounts, but add that AI is not yet as effective at identifying violations in some other areas, such bullying and harassment.
7.7 million posts were removed from Facebook due to bullying and harassment between October and December 2023, with another 8.8 million taken off Instagram.

AI systems identified 86.5% and 95.3% of those posts, respectively, before they were reported by a user, compared to fake account violations, where 99% are identified by artificial intelligence.

Meta representatives will also outline that the social media giant believes a “significant step forward” can be taken at a European level that would mean parents would only need to verify the age of their child once and the child would then be given an age-appropriate experience on the apps they use.

They will say that the “most efficient and effective way” this would work would be at the level of operating systems or app stores, but that this would not remove responsibility from every app to have processes in place to manage age effectively.