Meta has been accused of enabling child sexual abuse on its social media platforms in a new lawsuit filed by New Mexico, United States.
The lawsuit, brought late Tuesday by New Mexico’s Attorney General Raúl Torrez, targets Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, and the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The complaint levels allegations that Meta failed to protect children from predators and deliberately pushed harmful content towards them through its algorithms.
The case further alleges Meta’s safety measures failed to safeguard minors from human trafficking and online solicitation, and allowed Facebook and Instagram to become a “marketplace for predators” targeting children. The complaint calls Facebook and Instagram “breeding grounds” for child abusers and for the distribution of material depicting child sexual abuse.
“Our investigation into Meta’s social media platforms demonstrates that they are not safe spaces for children but rather prime locations for predators to trade child pornography and solicit minors for sex,” the attorney general said in a press statement dated Wednesday, December 7, 2023. It adds that the company “enabled dozens of adults to find, contact, and press children into providing sexually explicit pictures of themselves or participate in pornographic videos”.
In an undercover investigation conducted by the attorney general’s office, evidence was found through accounts impersonating 14-year-olds that minors receive sexually explicit content from predators on the Messenger app, which is associated with Facebook. Children are steered into groups that are rife with content depicting child sexual abuse and lack any robust moderation mechanisms. “Mr. Zuckerberg and other Meta executives are aware of the serious harm their products can pose to young users, and yet they have failed to make sufficient changes to their platforms that would prevent the sexual exploitation of children,” Torrez said.
Last week, following a series of investigative reports into Meta’s failures to protect children on its platforms by The Wall Street Journal, the company issued a statement about reviewing its existing child protection policies. Meta, while outlining strategies to counter child exploitation, highlighted its efforts to protect minors from predators online. “In August 2023 alone, we disabled more than 500,000 accounts for violating our child sexual exploitation policies.”
According to the WSJ reports, Instagram “connects vast pedophilic network” and the company’s “systems for fostering communities have guided users to child-sex content”. The concerning reporting attracted attention from the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Lambasting Meta, the legislative committee called for transparency around the claims and vowed strict action against the company.
“Last week we were appalled to read the sickening reports of child sex abuse material on Instagram and have since taken action to demand answers and hold Big Tech accountable,” the committee said in a press statement. “We are in the process now of scheduling briefings with Meta and Instagram. Meta must be transparent about why this egregious content is allowed on its platform and why its own algorithms promoted it for users to view and engage with.”
The statement added the reported exploitation of children is “indefensible” and that the authorities will tighten the regulatory noose around social media companies. “Big Tech must be held accountable,” the committee stressed.
The lawsuit lands atop the pile of legal troubles Meta has been facing of late with regards to child safety, data privacy, and market competition. The firm, which is among the world’s most influential and powerful tech behemoths, is embroiled in a series of complaints from regulators around the world over its questionable business practices, with particularly intense scrutiny around its child protection measures. Meta also currently stands sued by 33 US states for contributing to a “mental health crisis” through its “addictive features”.
