Meta Allows Over 50 Paid Ads Sexualizing Minors to Run on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Threads
Meta has once again demonstrated serious shortcomings in its advertising moderation systems. Over a nine-month period, more than 50 paid advertisements featuring sexualized images of minors appeared on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Threads. Some of the images were created with generative artificial intelligence tools.
Researchers from Tech Transparency Project (TTP) discovered that several of these advertisements continued to run into early August. The material consisted of commercially purchased ads rather than random user-generated posts lost in feeds.
The findings indicate that Meta's review processes, both automated and manual, failed to catch content that explicitly violates platform rules on child sexualization. The use of AI-generated imagery added further complexity to detection efforts.
Investigators noted that the advertisements were not isolated incidents but formed a consistent pattern across multiple Meta-owned platforms. The prolonged runtime of some ads suggests that existing safeguards were insufficient to prevent paid promotion of prohibited material.
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