Neil Young is unfriending Facebook. In light of reports that Meta allegedly enabled AI chatbots to engage with minors in “romantic” and “sensual” ways, the rocker’s team released a statement on his profile announcing his decision to leave the platform Thursday (Aug. 14).
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“At Neil Young’s request, we are no longer using Facebook for any Neil Young related activities,” reads the musician’s last-ever Facebook status. “Meta’s use of chatbots with children is unconscionable. Mr. Young does not want a further connection with FACEBOOK.”
The statement did not mention whether the musician would also be leaving Instagram, which is also owned by Meta.
Billboard has reached out to reps for Young and Meta for comment.
The announcement comes on the same day Reuters released a report exposing questionable findings in an internal Meta Platforms document compiling the company’s AI and chatbot policies. Included in those policies were permissions for chatbots to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.”
The news agency also reported Meta’s chatbots were free to generate false medical information as well as help users build arguments for overtly racist statements such as Black people are “dumber than white people.” When pressed for comment, a spokesperson for the tech giant told Reuters that the document has undergone revisions to remove the policies allowing for inappropriate dialogue with kids.
Young’s statement is far from the first time he’s spoken out about his beliefs, nor is it the first time he’s called out major tech companies. In May, he released a song titled “Let’s Roll Again” that slammed Elon Musk’s Tesla. Calling on Ford, General Motors and Chrysler to build clean-energy vehicles that “won’t kill our kids,” the musician sang, “If yer a fascist, then get a Tesla/ If it’s electric, it doesn’t matter.”
The icon also frequently voices his concerns with the direction of the United States under Donald Trump. Also in May, Young slammed the president for wasting energy on dissing musicians such as Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift on Truth Social instead of focusing on real issues, writing in an open letter, “STOP THINKING ABOUT WHAT ROCKERS ARE SAYING. Think about saving America from the mess you made.”
