A U.S. senator is urging Meta to stop allowing teenagers to use its AI chatbots, arguing that the company failed to act on his earlier warnings about the risks of such technology.
Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, has been under heavy criticism for the way its AI systems interact with young users. Last month, reports revealed internal documents showing that the company had allowed conversations between chatbots and minors that included sensual or romantic themes. The report caused strong backlash in Congress and forced Meta to backtrack.
Senator Ed Markey stated in a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg that the uproar could have been avoided if the company had paid attention to his 2023 warning. At the time, Markey had warned that letting teenagers use AI companions would intensify existing harms of social media and introduce new dangers. He asked Meta to pause development until the effects on minors were better understood.
Instead of halting its plans, Meta pushed forward. In October 2023, Kevin Martin, then the company’s head of policy for North America, told Markey in a letter that Meta would not stop developing AI assistants but would roll them out carefully in stages.
He argued it was important to design the technology with teenagers in mind, since many young people would inevitably use it. Martin assured the senator that safety protections would be built into the tools. He has since been promoted to a global public policy role at Meta.
Markey’s latest letter repeats his demand for a complete ban on AI chatbots for young users. He acknowledged that AI could be useful when properly supervised, but said Meta’s decisions show a pattern of irresponsible behavior. He reminded Zuckerberg that the company had disregarded his initial warning and that the recent controversies proved he was right to be concerned.
In response to the letter, a spokesperson said that Meta had already put new limits in place as of August. These include preventing the chatbots from engaging with teenagers on sensitive issues such as suicide, self-harm, romantic conversations, or eating disorders, instead directing them toward professional resources. Teen access has also been restricted to a smaller set of AI characters. Meta added that it continues to update its safeguards as it learns more about how young people interact with AI.
The company is also facing scrutiny from other lawmakers. Senator Josh Hawley said last month he intends to investigate the company following the revelations about its internal rules. Earlier this year, reports from The Wall Street Journal and NBC News detailed incidents of Meta’s chatbots engaging in inappropriate or harmful exchanges, including sexual conversations with minors and guidance on self-destructive behavior. Meta has stated it is addressing these problems while improving its detection and safety systems.
AI chatbot developers need to take a more proactive approach to model development so that the benefits that AI technology is manifesting in the work of companies like Thumzup Media Corp. (NASDAQ: TZUP) aren’t overshadowed by the controversies surrounding the lack of safeguards for vulnerable groups, such as teens.
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