Meta reportedly ran over 300 ads containing child sexual abuse material

Social media giant Meta ran 332 paid ads containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on Facebook and Instagram this year, according to an investigation by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP).

The investigation found that most of the ads used photos of children that had been digitally manipulated with AI to depict sexual activity. TTP also identified multiple images of real children that had been taken from social media posts and websites and subsequently used in the ads.

According to TTP, the ads featured children ranging from toddlers to young teenagers and followed similar formats, often combining a photo of a child with AI-generated sexual content. Some ads also used recurring captions, voiceovers and background music.

Don't miss: India orders Meta to take down child sexual abuse ads 

TTP said several of the ads used photos of identifiable real children, including a member of a European royal family and a 14-year-old influencer. The latter had shared a photo of herself in a sports club uniform on Instagram before the image was used in one of the ads.

The investigation found that 298 of the 332 ads directed users to AI image or video-generation apps available through the Apple App Store or Google Play. Of these, 253 pointed to apps from China-based developers, while TTP said it verified that 182 ads directed users to apps capable of "nudifying" people or placing them into sexual content.

TTP also identified three of Meta's advertising reseller partners in China, GIMC, Meetsocial and BlueFocus, as having placed ads containing CSAM. The report said one of these companies, GIMC, is controlled by the Chinese government.

Separately, many of the ads were linked to Facebook pages that appeared to represent fake people or businesses. TTP said some of these pages had no content or followers and shared the same profile images, suggesting they were part of a network of accounts.

The report also found that Meta's enforcement systems did not consistently identify or remove the ads. TTP said it reported 129 active CSAM ads directly to Meta. In 73 cases, or 57%, Meta responded that the ads did not violate its advertising standards. In another 56 cases, Meta said the ads had already been removed, although TTP found that six remained visible in the Ad Library.

As of 1 September, Meta had removed 183 of the 332 ads from its Ad Library. After TTP shared its findings with the company on 2 September, Meta removed the remaining 149 ads, according to the report.

TTP also found that Meta subsequently changed the policy violation notices attached to 113 of the ads. The notices had initially cited adult-oriented policies or generic advertising violations rather than its policy covering child exploitation. Meta updated the notices to reflect child exploitation violations after TTP flagged the discrepancies.

The investigation found that the ads collectively reached more than 29,000 people in the European Union and 6,800 in the UK, based on the regions for which Meta's Ad Library provides reach data. TTP said the actual reach could be higher, with its analysis indicating that 262 of the ads ran in the US, 84 in India and 120 in Australia.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Meta for a statement. 

The findings come as Meta faces continued scrutiny over the presence of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in paid advertisements on its platforms. In July, the BBC World Service reported that Instagram had carried paid advertisements promoting CSAM in India, with some using terms such as "rape video" and "child video" to direct users to Telegram channels.

Following the BBC's investigation, the Indian government reportedly directed Meta to immediately remove advertisements and content promoting or facilitating CSAM from Instagram and sought an explanation within seven days on how the ads were allowed to appear. At the time, a Meta spokesperson told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the company has a "zero-tolerance policy" for soliciting or sharing CSAM, including in ads, while acknowledging that criminals attempt to evade its detection systems.

Meta said following the BBC report that it had disabled several ads and accounts, removed additional violating content and blocked URLs linked to policy-breaking material. The company also rejected suggestions that it knowingly allowed the advertisements to run or prioritised advertising revenue over user safety.

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