• Expansion of teen-account monitoring systems to Europe and Facebook in the United States
• Rising regulatory pressure and lawsuits aimed at tightening online child protection

Meta announced wider rollout of underage-detection safeguards across EU countries and U.S. Facebook amid growing scrutiny.

Europe is moving toward stricter limits on minors’ access to social media, while the U.S. state of New Mexico has asked a court to classify Meta as a public nuisance, fine it $3.7 billion, and force structural changes to better protect young users.

Last year, the company began using artificial intelligence tools to identify accounts suspected of belonging to minors, even when false ages are entered, and automatically place them under teen protections.

Meta said the system will now be expanded across the European Union and applied to Facebook in the United States for the first time, before later extending to the United Kingdom and EU in June.

It also relies on advanced AI to analyze account behavior and profile signals to detect underage users without direct age disclosure, while strengthening barriers against new accounts believed to belong to minors.