Instagram and Facebook introduce more limits on targeting teens with ads
TechCrunchNov 25, 2022
The Facts
The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday reported that a joint investigation carried out with academics at Stanford University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that the algorithms of the Meta-owned social media platform Instagram actively promote pedophile networks that commission and sell child sexual abuse content.
Stanford's Internet Observatory and UMass Rescue Lab quickly identified large-scale communities promoting criminal sex abuse, which do not publish their content openly but rather offer to sell "menus" of content.
The Spin
Narrative A
While Meta has acknowledged that it has a long way to go in combatting this issue, we shouldn't forget that it has already taken down two dozen pedophile rings and removed countless pieces of child abuse content. As tackling this issue is its number one priority, this tech leader has also set up a new task force devoted entirely to ridding its platforms of these heinous criminals and their illegal content uploads.
Narrative B
Sexually explicit child abuse content has run rampant online since the tech boom, and its number one supplier is Meta. Whether it's on search engines or social media platforms, pedophiles can run simple searches to gain easy access to countless child victims. While user privacy is important, tech companies certainly have the tools to target images that can lead to danger without violating the rights of law-abiding counterparts.