Neil Young Exits Facebook Over Platform’s ‘Unconscionable’ Chatbot Usage

If you’re looking for future updates in regard to Neil Young-related matters, you’ll need to look somewhere other than Facebook.

The veteran Canadian rocker made clear his disdain for the platform late last week, with a message on his official page announcing his exit from promoting on the social media service.

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

Young’s Facebook exit came about on the same day Reuters released a report which outlined some of the more alarming finding from an internal Meta policy document which touched upon the company’s policies regarding AI and chatbots.

Alongside Reuters’ reporting that these policies allowed for the dissemination of false medical information and the promotion of racist viewpoints, it also noted a permission for these chatbots to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.”

For their part, a spokesperson for Meta claimed that such conversations should never have been allowed in the first place, and the company was in the process of revising these documents.

“The examples and notes in question were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies, and have been removed,” spokesperson Andy Stone stated. “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.”

This is far from the first time that Young has been vocal about standing up for his beliefs in such a public way and removing his presence from high-profile platforms.

In 2022, Young announced his departure from Spotify, accusing the platform of allowing the spread of COVID misinformation by hosting Joe Rogan's podcast, while also stating “they can have Rogan or Young. Not both”.

In 2024, Young returned to the platform after Rogan’s exclusivity with Spotify ended and it began streaming on other platforms such as Apple and Amazon, of which leaving Young claimed would leave “very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all.”

“Spotify, the #1 streaming of low res music in the world – Spotify where you get less quality than we made, will now be home of my music again,” Young wrote in a statement at the time.