One employee said that the algorithm had contributed 75% of all inappropriate contact between adults and minors.
Digital Desk: In a shocking fact, an internal presentation by Meta has estimated that 100,000 minors received photos of adult genitalia and other content that depicts sexual abuse every day.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, this figure redacted a document presented in a detailed form in a lawsuit filed by New Mexico. The lawsuit alleged that Meta's platforms recommend sexual content to underage users and promote underage accounts to predatory adult users.
As per the report, Meta staff noted that one of the recommended algorithms “People You May Know” was known among employees to connect child users with potential predators.
The lawsuit claims that this algorithm was brought to the attention several years earlier by executives but they had rejected the suggestion that the company needed to adjust the algorithm.
One employee said that the algorithm had contributed 75% of all inappropriate contact between adults and minors.
Another employee added, "How on earth have we not just turned off PYMK between adults and children? It's upsetting."
A 2020 internal email reported that the prevalence of "sex talk" to minors was 38 times greater on Instagram than on Facebook Messenger in the US.
A November 2020 presentation titled “Child Safety: State of Play” said Instagram used “minimal child safety protections and described policies regarding "minor sexualisation" as "immature".
The Lawsuit claims that more than 40 states other states in the US sued Meta in October last year.
Regarding this issue, Meta would start automatically restricting teenagers on Instagram and Facebook accounts from harmful content including videos and posts about self-harm, graphic violence and eating disorders.
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