Disinformation Nation: Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation (QFR Responses)

QuestionCiting the pattern of YouTube Kids users migrating to the main YouTube platform, Trahan asks whether Messenger Kids usage has led to an increase in under-13 monthly active users across Facebook's other apps.

ResponseFacebook denies Messenger Kids automatically feeds into a Facebook account at 13, describes its age-verification approach (self-reported birthdate, user reports, AI age-estimation tools), and argues that kids-specific apps like Messenger Kids actually reduce the incentive for children to lie about their age to access the main platform — without directly answering whether under-13 monthly active users increased.