When a teen posts a selfie, how much filter is 'too much' filter?
asserted
filter → post → selfie
How much filter is too much filter for kids and teens posting selfies on social media?
asserted
filter → post → media
That is the question state attorneys general across the country are grappling with following a landmark settlement with Meta this summer.
asserted
attorneys → grapple → Meta
As part of the agreement, the social media giant agreed to block some digital beauty filters for minors — specifically those mimicking extreme transformations like cosmetic procedures or heavy makeup.
asserted
giant → agree → procedures
Now, the burden falls on state officials to tell Meta where to draw the line.
asserted
burden → fall → line
But defining where harmless fun ends and harmful manipulation begins is far from straightforward.
asserted
manipulation → define → ?
Impact on youth body image
For teenagers navigating the digital landscape, the pressure of online perfection is a daily reality.
asserted
pressure → navigate → perfection
Much of that pressure has been driven by online beauty trends like "Instagram face."
asserted
Much → drive → face
Coined in 2019 by The New Yorker writer Jia Tolentino, the phrase refers to a look characterized by a small button nose, high cheekbones and pouty lips.
asserted
phrase → coin → nose
While traditionally only achievable in real life through plastic surgery or extreme makeup, it can be applied instantly online using beauty filters.
asserted
it → apply → filters
Mia Lerner, a 17-year-old high school senior in California and a youth body image activist, knows the toll these digital tools can take.
asserted
tools → know → toll
She told NPR experimenting with beauty filters contributed to her eating disorder and left her struggling with her self-image.
asserted
experimenting → tell → image
"I've even tried to fix my nose with AI," Lerner said.
asserted
Lerner → try → AI
"My face looks a lot better, I think, in [the] photo that I manipulated with these beauty filters.
asserted
I → look → filters
But I'm still living with this nose that I see in the mirror.
asserted
I → live → mirror
Lerner welcomes the aspect of the Meta settlement that aims to restrict beauty filters for minors.
asserted
that → welcome → minors
"It's a very important step in the right direction," Lerner said.
asserted
Lerner → say → direction
The problem with 'subtle' editing
However, the agreement reached in August between Meta and 47 U.S. states — plus Washington D.C. and three territories — does not institute a blanket ban on all digital effects.
asserted
agreement → reach → effects
Filters that transform users into playful characters, like elves or puppies, will remain available for young people.
asserted
that → transform → people
But so will filters offering subtle beautification effects — such as smoothing skin tone or adding a slight eye glow
asserted
filters → offer → glow
It is this category of relatively minor editing that particularly concerns Lerner.
asserted
that → concern → Lerner
"When I see something that has been so obviously AI-generated, it's very easy for me to logically say, 'Well, that's obviously been manipulated so I can't compare myself to that,'" Lerner said.
asserted
Lerner → see → that
"But when I see these videos of people who are just slightly edited, it's a lot easier for me to go down that comparison path."
asserted
me → see → path
Tech guardrails vs. moving targets
Meta has previously implemented measures to manage beauty filters, which are increasingly powered by artificial intelligence.
asserted
which → move → intelligence
The tech giant has already banned filters that explicitly promote cosmetic surgery, such as those overlaying pre-surgery marker lines onto skin.
asserted
that → ban → skin
It has also shut down its platform for third-party creators of these tools, introduced mandatory labels for AI-generated content, and deployed automated AI detection systems.
asserted
It → shut → systems
Despite these systems, harmful aesthetic filters and features that keep children trapped in an endless cycle of scrolling, clicking, and staying online persistently slipped past these guardrails, as a federal judge wrote in a summary judgement denying Meta's defense this summer.
asserted
judge → keep → defense
Meta is not the only tech company grappling with teen access to beauty filters.
asserted
Meta → grapple → filters
TikTok also restricts users under the age of 18 from using them.
asserted
TikTok → restrict → them
Snapchat does not restrict teen access to filters.
asserted
Snapchat → restrict → filters
Neither company responded to NPR's request for comment.
asserted
company → respond → comment
YouTube told NPR it does not have any filters.
asserted
it → tell → filters
Meanwhile, state attorneys general are reaching the end of a two-month window they set themselves to provide Meta with guidance in the form of a letter on what constitutes a bannable filter — and what does not.
asserted
what → reach → filter
They face a moving target, as digital beauty standards evolve rapidly.
asserted
standards → face → target
"If the states want to define what is a beauty filter, they should define what is beauty," said Florencia Solari, a creative technologist who has spent years developing AI and augmented reality experiences for global brands.
asserted
who → want → brands
Solari noted that trend cycles move quickly.
asserted
cycles → note → ?
"Instagram face" is already falling out of favor.
asserted
face → fall → favor
"People are starting to move away from that because it's starting to look a bit clownish," Solari said.
asserted
Solari → start → that
"Now it's going towards extreme thinness.
asserted
it → go → thinness
As a result, the tools that are used to achieve the latest look are therefore also changing.
asserted
that → use → look
…and 22 more, not listed.
The Aporia
