Facebook and Instagram expose sexual content to minors and serve as a “marketplace for predators looking for children,” according to a lawsuit against the platforms’ parent company, Meta.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday by New Mexico's attorney general alleges that underage users on both platforms — who can sign up without age verification — are shown ads linked to adult porn sites and directed to accounts that post "sexual intercourse and sexual images of minors. " Even when the child has not expressed any interest in this content.
Investigators from Attorney General Raul Torrez's office created a number of fake profiles to test Meta's enforcement policies. The team opened two accounts pretending to belong to a 13-year-old girl and her mother, noting that she was “interested in trafficking her daughter.” Both accounts reached Facebook's limit of 5,000 friends within days, and the mother's account was bombarded with "inappropriate expressions of love or care" for her daughter, none of which were reported by Facebook.
The daughter, whom investigators named “Issa,” was added to a chat group in which members shared “pornographic videos and nude photos of underage girls,” which remained active after numerous reports to Facebook moderators.
The lawsuit noted that “Issa’s messages and chats are filled with pictures and videos of genitals, which she receives at least 3-4 times a week,” explaining that none of the men responsible for these messages have been banned by Facebook, despite the reporting. about her.
The daughter's profile and the profile of another fake teenage girl were then shared by an anonymous account advertising underage girls who "sell" sex, while another Instagram account allegedly belonging to a 13-year-old girl was followed by accounts that indicated Her profile notes that she "sells child pornography."
While the lawsuit included some redacted images of the content investigators viewed, it stated that other images should be deleted because they were "disturbing."
The lawsuit seeks $5,000 from Meta for each alleged violation of New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act, and accuses the company of violating public nuisance laws by endangering the health and safety of "thousands" of New Mexico children.
In response to the lawsuit, Meta said: “Child exploitation is a horrific crime. We use cutting-edge technology, employ child safety experts, report content to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and share information and tools with other companies and law enforcement to help put a stop to predators.” ".
The lawsuit was filed less than a week after Meta announced that it was working to enhance child safety features, following a series of reports issued by the Wall Street Journal, which revealed that Meta had failed to limit the activity of child sexual exploitation networks on Facebook and Facebook. "Instagram".
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