US EditionLawsuit: Meta Allowed Sex-Trafficking Posts on Instagram as It Put Profit over Kids’ Safety
Meta faced allegations of a permissive strike policy and recommendation features exposing nearly 2 million minors to adult predators, prioritizing profit over child safety, plaintiffs said.
- On Friday, a court filing in Oakland alleges Meta, YouTube, Snap and TikTok allowed sexual solicitation on Instagram, citing claims Meta prioritized growth over child safety protections.
- Plaintiffs say internal priorities show Meta prioritized engagement over safety, citing that it made $62.4 billion in profit last year but had only about 30% of needed safety staff.
- Evidence cited in the filing shows Instagram recommendation feature pushed nearly 2 million minors to adults and over 1 million potentially inappropriate adults to teens , with AI-flagged content not automatically deleted, despite a '17x' strike policy.
- The filing seeks relief including unspecified damages and court orders to stop alleged harm and require warnings, claiming social media infiltrated U.S. school districts and classrooms and harmed student mental health, with many sealed records in the case.
- Meta and Snap pushed back, with Meta saying they "strongly disagree with these allegations," while records show default privacy for teens was not applied until the end of last year amid an internal projection of a 2.2% daily user drop.
56 Articles
56 Articles
Lawsuit: Meta allowed sex-trafficking posts on Instagram as it put profit over kids’ safety
A significant new court filing claims Facebook and Instagram owner Meta had a “17x” policy allowing sex traffickers to post content related to sexual solicitation or prostitution 16 times before their accounts were suspended on the 17th “strike.” The allegation is one of many in the filing claiming Meta chose profit and user engagement over the safety and well-being of children. The description of the purported sexual content policy at Instagram…
Lawsuit: Meta allowed sex-trafficking posts on Instagram as it put profit over kids’ safety
A significant new court filing claims Facebook and Instagram owner Meta had a “17x” policy allowing sex traffickers to post content related to sexual solicitation or prostitution 16 times before their accounts were suspended on the 17th “strike.” The allegation is one of many in the filing claiming Meta chose profit and user engagement over the safety and well-being of children. The description of the purported sexual content policy at Instagram…
Lawsuit: Meta allowed sex-trafficking posts on Instagram as it put profit over kids’ safety
A significant new court filing claims Facebook and Instagram owner Meta had a “17x” policy allowing sex traffickers to post content related to sexual solicitation or prostitution 16 times before their accounts were suspended on the 17th “strike.” The allegation is one of many in the filing claiming Meta chose profit and user engagement over the safety and well-being of children. The description of the purported sexual content policy at Instagram…
Lawsuit: Meta allowed sex-trafficking posts on Instagram as it put profit over kids’ safety
A significant new court filing claims Facebook and Instagram owner Meta had a “17x” policy allowing sex traffickers to post content related to sexual solicitation or prostitution 16 times before their accounts were suspended on the 17th “strike.” The allegation is one of many in the filing claiming Meta chose profit and user engagement over the safety and well-being of children. The description of the purported sexual content policy at Instagram…
Lawsuit: Meta allowed sex-trafficking posts on Instagram as it put profit over kids’ safety
A significant new court filing claims Facebook and Instagram owner Meta had a “17x” policy allowing sex traffickers to post content related to sexual solicitation or prostitution 16 times before their accounts were suspended on the 17th “strike.” The allegation is one of many in the filing claiming Meta chose profit and user engagement over the safety and well-being of children. The description of the purported sexual content policy at Instagram…
Lawsuit: Meta allowed sex-trafficking posts on Instagram as it put profit over kids’ safety
A significant new court filing claims Facebook and Instagram owner Meta had a “17x” policy allowing sex traffickers to post content related to sexual solicitation or prostitution 16 times before their accounts were suspended on the 17th “strike.” The allegation is one of many in the filing claiming Meta chose profit and user engagement over the safety and well-being of children. The description of the purported sexual content policy at Instagram…
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