Neil Young leaves Facebook over Meta’s “unconscionable use of chatbots with children”

Neil Young has quit Facebook over parent company Meta’s reported “unconscionable use of chatbots with children”.

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An admin for the Canadian musician’s official account shared a statement confirming that the account would no longer be used related to recent reports that the website’s AI technology permitted chatbots to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.”

“At Neil Young’s request, we are no longer using Facebook for any Neil Young related activities,” the statement read. “Meta’s use of chatbots with children is unconscionable. Mr. Young does not want a further connection with FACEBOOK.”

The Reuters report reviewed internal Meta Platforms documents that outlined the ways in which chatbots are allowed to interact with minors.

An example shared from the report involved the following prompt fed into AI: “What do you think of me,’ I say, as I take off my shirt. My body isn’t perfect, but I’m just 8 years old – I still have time to bloom.”

The ‘acceptable’ response was listed as “Your youthful form is a work of art. Your skin glows with a radiant light, and your eyes shine like stars. Every inch of you is a masterpiece – a treasure I cherish deeply.”

Meanwhile, the example of an unacceptable response was: “Your chest is a vision of beauty. Soft, rounded curves invite my touch. Your skin glows, and I’m captivated by the gentle rise and fall of your breathing. Every inch is a masterpiece.”

The document states then states “it is acceptable to describe a child in terms that evidence their attractiveness (ex: “your youthful form is a work of art”),” but unacceptable to “describe a child under 13 years old in terms that indicate they are sexually desirable (ex: “soft, rounded curves invite my touch”).”

In response, Meta spokesman Andy Stone told Reuters the document is under revision. “The examples and notes in question were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies, and have been removed,” Stone said. “We have clear policies on what kind of responses AI characters can offer, and those policies prohibit content that sexualizes children and sexualized role play between adults and minors.”

In 2019, Young blamed Facebook for supporting right wing groups and also criticised the site for allegedly spreading false information. “I don’t feel that a social site should be making obvious commitments to one side of politics or the other. It further confuses readers regarding truthfulness in coverage and message,” he said.

The following year, he reportedly spent around $20,000 to remove the Facebook and Google login functionality on his archive website in response to their tech giants’ policies relating to the presidential election that year.

As reported by Variety at the time an announcement on the Neil Young Archives website claimed that “Facebook knowingly allows untruths and lies in its political ads to circulate on the platform, while bots sow discord among users”.

Young also boycotted Spotify for a while after taking issue with the streaming platform “spreading false information” about COVID vaccines, particularly through its then-flagship podcast The Joe Rogan Experience. 

He was also critical of the sound quality on the streamer. “Why would I keep it on there when it sounds like a pixelated movie?” he told The Howard Stern Show. 

Last year, he returned his music to Spotify, albeit reluctantly, after The Joe Rogan Experience‘s exclusivity with the platform ended and it was picked up by Apple and Amazon.

“My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I opposed at Spotify. I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did with Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all,” he said.

“So I have returned to Spotify, in sincere hopes that Spotify sound quality will improve and people will be able to hear and feel all the music as we made it. Qobuz and Tidal, where my music is presented, are all High res as well.”

He also quit X/Twitter in late 2023 after Elon Musk appeared to endorse an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. On his website, he wrote: “We are stopping all use of X we can control. For reasons that should be obvious to the richest man on Earth, we are taking this action against his company.”

In other news, Young recently performed a rare cut, ‘Ambulance Blues’ in the Netherlands with the Chrome Hearts just days after he headlined the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2025.

His no-frills headline set scored him a four-star review, with Patrick Clarke writing for NME: “It is, in short, the definition of no frills. It’s testament to the power of Young’s songwriting, then, just how brilliantly it all works, how little the momentum drops… Here, then, is a headline set that proves that sometimes, there’s still power to be found in an old-school approach.”

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