Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., during the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025.
Meta on Friday announced new safety features that will allow parents to see and manage how their teenagers are interacting with artificial intelligence characters on the company's platforms.
Parents will have the option to turn off one-on-one chats with AI characters completely, Meta said. They will also be able to block specific AI characters, get insight into the topics their children are discussing with them.
Meta is still building the controls, and the company said they will start to roll out early next year.
"Making updates that affect billions of users across Meta platforms is something we have to do with care, and we'll have more to share soon," Meta said in a blog post.
Meta has long faced criticism over its handling of child safety and mental health on its apps. The company's new parental controls come after the Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry into several tech companies, including Meta, over how AI chatbots could potentially harm children and teenagers.