Mark Zuckerberg could do more to stop online child sexual abuse, but he doesn't

Mark Zuckerberg said, “I’m sorry.” But I don’t believe him. Two years ago, Zuckerberg was called to testify before senators about the role his companies play in harming children. In a moment that sparked a flurry of photos, he was asked to turn around and face the parents in the room who had lost their children from harms they suffered from use of his platforms. He said, “I’m sorry.” He promised industry-wide efforts to ensure no one else would suffer. We sat in that room and hoped this would be a turning point for his company. But his actions tell a different story. Under Zuckerberg’s leadership, Meta has consistently prioritized growth and profit over the safety of children. Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp have become breeding grounds for child sexual abuse, grooming, sextortion, and sex trafficking. The scope and scale of sexual abuse happening because of corporate design and policy choices is difficult to capture. A top Meta child-safety researcher warned executives in internal communications that there are about 500,000 cases per day of minors being targeted by sexually exploitative messages on Facebook and Instagram. And mind you, this was in English-language markets alone. “We expect the true situation is worse,” the company researcher wrote . Instagram recommended 1.4 million potentially dangerous adults to teens in a single day. Meta had a 17-strikes policy before suspending accounts flagged for engaging in sex trafficking. …