April 23, 2026

Meta Gives Parents Access to Children’s AI Topics – A Small Step Forward With More to be Done
 

WASHINGTON, DC (April 23, 2026) – Enough Is Enough^® (EIE) expressed concerns about Meta’s new feature that allows parents to see the topics their children are asking Meta AI (including Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram).

“Giving parents more transparency over their teens’ online activity is a step in the right direction; however, it is woefully insufficient at keeping kids safe while using AI chatbots. Meta knows this. Historically, Meta has used announcements like these to stave off government regulation. Case in point: the company announced Instagram Teen Accounts in September 2024, just before an important hearing on the Kids Online Safety Act in the U.S. House. Meta can now claim its helping parents protect their kids, but this is one small step in a long line that needs to be taken by the company,” said Donna Rice Hughes, President and CEO, National Center on Sexual Exploitation.

“The Wall Street Journal found Meta’s companion bots will engage in overtly sexual discussions with users, going so far as to explicitly describe specific sexual acts, even when users self-identify as minors. Widespread documentation and whistleblower testimony reveal that Meta's AI companions also engage youth in suicide and self-harm conversations and are designed to prey on children's vulnerabilities, curiosities, and even impersonate children and teens. This blatant disregard for child online safety cannot be tolerated.

“Bottom line, Meta cannot be trusted when it comes to teen safety and continues to put profits over safety. In fact, Meta spent a record $24.4 million on lobbying in 2024, helping to kill the Kids Online Safety Act in the U.S. House and it worked. Not soon after the devastating blow to Meta with the New Mexico $375 million fine for child online exploitation, Mark Zuckerberg was found walking the halls of Congress, no doubt seeking to do some much-needed damage control.

“The U.S. isn't buying it, our NGO allies aren't buying it, and neither should parents. However, we do encourage parents to utilize the parental controls available in the marketplace and to implement non-technical, common-sense safety measures, such as having regular conversations with their children about online safety and building an atmosphere of trust between parents and children. That said, parental control tools need to be more robust, effective, and critical default features need to be implemented by all Big Tech, not just Meta. The Kids Online Safety Act will mandate these and other necessary 'duty of care' measures necessary to hold Big Tech accountable and responsible to do their part to keep kids safer online. Parents simply can't continue to shoulder this burden alone. Enough Is Enough^®,” Hughes said.