Probe into child abuse on Meta platforms results in the apprehension of three individuals.
Authorities made several arrests following a months-long probe into potential child exploitation on Facebook and Instagram led by the attorney general's office. This same investigation led to a lawsuit against Meta, who are accused of facilitating a haven for online predators.
Meta has countered these claims and asserts they provide various safety measures for children and their parents.
During the investigation, the attorney general's office set up false child profiles on Facebook and Instagram that were served with sexually inappropriate content. Additionally, these profiles were reported to have been solicited for sexual encounters by the three New Mexico adults arrested. Two of the men were detained at a motel, where they assumed they'd meet a 12-year-old girl, based on their online chats.
Accusing the company of prioritizing profits over the well-being of children, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said, "This is Mark Zuckerberg's fault… They've had the resources to combat child exploitation, and they've chosen not to."
A Meta representative refuted this, asserting that the company has developed numerous safety measures, collaborated with governmental and non-profit organizations, and used sophisticated technology to protect children from predatory acts.
As lawmakers, parents, and online safety advocates continue to push for increased accountability, the safety of young users on social media platforms has become a growing issue.
In the wake ofTorrez's lawsuit, Meta launched new youth safety features, such as making it more difficult for strangers to contact teens and implementing an automatic privacy setting for underage users. Notably, adults were previously permitted to message teens they didn't follow. Now, the default privacy settings only allow people to contact teenagers who are already following them.
Meta also claimed to have an initiative to root out predators and said in December 2021 that it had developed a system that detects suspicious behavior and disables accounts exhibiting such.
Despite these developments, Torrez stated during a press conference that the arrests highlighted the immediate threats children face on Meta's platforms. Torrez further contended, "The decoy accounts used by these suspects are a reflection of the real danger children encounter on these platforms, where predators actively hunt for, groom, and victimize youngsters."
Two of the men arrested, Fernando Clyde, 52, and Marlon Kellywood, 29, had communicated with one of the attorney general's fake child accounts. In one of the cases, Clyde allegedly shared photos of his genitals and discussed having sex. Clyde has been charged with one count of coordinating a child for sexual acts through electronic communication and an attempted sexual assault on a minor. Kellywood has been charged with the same crimes.
Christopher Reynolds, 47, was arrested after an 11-year-old girl reportedly received messages from him. After adding Reynolds from a fake child account, law enforcement personnel engaged in a conversation, which resulted in Reynolds sending explicit messages. Reynolds is currently facing one count of soliciting a child for sexual acts through electronic communication.
Representatives for Clyde, Kellywood, and Reynolds have yet to provide comment.
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The investigation revealed that Meta's platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, were used as platforms for solicitation by these individuals, highlighting the need for enhanced tech-related safety measures in the business sector.
Despite Meta's claims of implementing safety measures, the case underscores the importance of tech companies prioritizing child safety over business interests in the digital landscape.
Source: edition.cnn.com
