The report says Meta continued to roll out subscription services without implementing basic child-safety protections
Meta’s staff flagged the company that some “parent-managed minor accounts” on Facebook and Instagram were using the subscription feature to sell content featuring young girls in bikinis and leotards, per a Wall Street Journal investigation.
Last year, Meta’s safety staff found that its new paid subscription tools on Facebook and Instagram were being misused by adults to profit off their kids by exploiting them.
According to Meta, the service was part of an effort to incentivize influencers to produce content.
However, the content featuring children was often sold to a predominantly male audience who made sexual comments about the children. While the content didn’t involve nudity or illegal material, some parents were aware that it attracted inappropriate interest.
Despite these concerns, Meta continued to roll out subscription services without implementing basic child-safety protections, according to the report.
The company’s failure to address these issues has drawn criticism from child safety advocates and legislators.
They say other social media platforms like TikTok, Patreon and OnlyFans have stricter policies to prevent the exploitation of minors, like banning subscriptions to child model accounts.