“Shocking revelation” about children being harassed every day on Facebook

The "shocking" figure was reported by the British newspaper The Guardian citing internal documents from Meta. The documents include a number of accusations against Meta, based on information received by the New Mexico Attorney General's Office (USA) from Meta employees and information exchanged between them. This is part of the evidence that New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez presented when suing Meta on December 5, 2023.

Notably, a Meta document estimated that around 100,000 children using Facebook and Instagram are sexually harassed every day. They are harassed not only by "indecent" comments but also by "sensitive" images from other users.

“Although Meta is aware of harmful content on its platforms, it has not taken effective measures to prevent it,” the document notes.

Many minors are sexually harassed while using Facebook. Illustration photo: Shuterstock

The document also mentions an incident in 2020 where the 12-year-old daughter of an Apple executive was sexually harassed via Instagram Direct, Instagram's messaging app.

A Meta employee at the time expressed concern about the connection to Apple. "This is something that made Apple angry enough to threaten to kick us out of the App Store," the employee said.

Additionally, a slide from Meta's 2021 internal child safety presentation found that the company "has not invested enough in policing sexual content involving minors on Instagram, especially sexually explicit comments posted by minors themselves. This is not only a bad experience for regular users, but also an opportunity for bad actors to identify and connect with each other."

Internal documents also highlight Meta staff concerns about the safety of minors, with one executive saying childcare on the platform was “negligible.”

Meta also appears to be aware of the issue "that could have unintended effects on children, including sensitive videos that can be accessed by both adults and children.

In response to the information, a Meta representative said: "We want teens to have a safe, age-appropriate online experience. The company has spent a decade addressing these issues, and has hired people who have dedicated their careers to keeping kids safe online."

"The above document misrepresents our work by using intentional citations," a Meta representative also stressed.

Meta has been sued many times because the two platforms Facebook and Instagram are harmful to minors.

It is expected that by the end of January, CEO Meta Zuckerberg and the CEOs of Snap, Discord, TikTok and X will have to explain to the US Senate about the safety of children on their platforms.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tiet-lo-soc-ve-tre-em-bi-quay-roi-moi-ngay-tren-facebook-196240122102726509.htm