Meta is halting teens' access to artificial intelligence characters, at least temporarily, the company said in a blog post Friday.
Meta Platforms Inc., which own Instagram and WhatsApp, said that starting in the “coming weeks,” teens will no longer be able to access AI characters “until the updated experience is ready”
This applies to anyone who gave Meta a birthday that makes them a minor, as well as “people who claim to be adults but who we suspect are teens based on our age prediction technology.”
The move comes the week before Meta — along with TikTok and Google's YouTube — is scheduled to stand trial in Los Angeles over its apps' harms to children.
Teens will still be able to access Meta's AI assistant, just not the characters.
Other companies have also banned teens from AI chatbots amid growing concerns about the effects of artificial intelligence conversations on children. Character.AI announced its ban last fall. That company is facing several lawsuits over child safety, including by the mother of a teenager who says the company’s chatbots pushed her teenage son to kill himself.
FILE - Attendees visit the Meta booth at the Game Developers Conference 2023 in San Francisco on March 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
DENVER (AP) — Owen Tippett had his second career hat trick and the Philadelphia Flyers handed the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche their fourth loss in five games, 7-3 on Friday night.
Tippett opened the scoring in the first and struck twice in the third. He also had an assist. Matvei Michkov had two goals and an assist, Denver Barkey and Bobby Brink also scored and Samuel Ersson made 32 saves.
Philadelphia finished 2-0-1 on a three-game trip and spoiled the 25th reunion of Colorado’s 2001 Stanley Cup championship squad.
The Avalanche had 15 players from the title team on hand, including team president Joe Sakic, Ray Bourque, Peter Forsberg and Rob Blake. They watched Colorado suffer just its second home regulation loss of the season and finish 3-3-1 on its longest homestand of the season.
Tippett gave the Flyers a 4-3 lead 56 seconds into the third period. Just 1:04 later, Michkov deflected Emile Andrae’s shot over Mackenzie Blackwood’s shoulder. Tippett scored on a short-handed breakaway with 9:36 left to push his season goals total to 18.
Cale Makar, Parker Kelly and Victor Olofsson scored for Colorado, and Nathan MacKinnon had two assists to retake the NHL scoring lead with 87 points.
Blackwood allowed six goals on 19 shots in his second game since returning from a lower-body injury.
Flyers: Host the New York Islanders on Monday night.
Avalanche: At Toronto on Sunday.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Colorado Avalanche center Zakhar Bardakov lies on the ice after being injured when he ran into the end boards in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Retired NHL player Ray Bourque places the Stanley Cup on a table during a ceremony to honor members of the Colorado Avalanche's 2001 championship team that featured Bourque before an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, left, collects the puck as Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier (14) tumbles to the ice in the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Philadelphia Flyers right wing Matvei Michkov, center, puts a shot on Colorado Avalanche goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood, left, as Cale Makar covers in the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson, left, tries to stop after propelling Philadelphia Flyers center Christian Dvorak, top right, into Avalanche goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood, bottom right, in the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
