The recent blog post by Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, highlights its efforts to expand and update its child safety features. However, these efforts come amidst mounting reports of how the platforms recommend and propagate inappropriate and sexual content involving children. The Wall Street Journal has extensively covered incidents where Instagram and Facebook have served explicit child-related content to users.
One report in June exposed how Instagram facilitated a network of accounts involved in buying and selling child sexual abuse material (CSAM) by recommending and connecting them to one another. Today, another investigation reveals the presence of pedophile accounts and groups on Facebook Groups, some of which boast memberships of up to 800,000 individuals. Meta’s recommendation system played a role in enabling these abusive accounts to find each other.
Meta acknowledges the gravity of the situation and has committed to placing restrictions on how “suspicious” adult accounts can interact with one another. On Instagram, these accounts will be unable to follow each other, won’t receive recommendations, and their comments will not be visible to other “suspicious” accounts. Additionally, Meta has expanded its list of terms, phrases, and emojis related to child safety and implemented machine learning to detect connections between different search terms.
The release of these reports coincides with increased scrutiny from regulators in the US and EU, seeking accountability from Meta regarding the safety of children on its platforms. In January 2024, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, along with other prominent tech executives, will testify before the Senate on the issue of online child exploitation. Furthermore, EU regulators have issued a deadline to Meta for providing information on how it protects minors. The regulators specifically mention the circulation of self-generated child sexual abuse material (SG-CSAM) on Instagram and the platform’s recommendation system.
The Journal’s reporting has also had consequences on the advertising front. In late November, popular dating app companies Bumble and Match suspended their advertisements on Instagram due to their placement alongside explicit content and Reels videos that sexualized children.
While Meta claims to be taking steps to improve child safety features, the recent reports shed light on significant flaws in its platforms’ recommendation systems. With regulatory pressure increasing and advertisers taking action, Meta must address these concerns promptly and effectively to ensure the safety of children on its platforms.
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