30 Comments
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Brian Lenney's avatar

They knew. They always knew.

Remember when I told you Meta was funding "parent advocacy" groups to blame Apple and Google for problems Meta created? Remember when I explained how the Digital Childhood Alliance was taking Meta's money while refusing to hold the actual source of harm accountable (link: https://open.substack.com/pub/jessicareedkraus/p/how-meta-funded-mom-groups-teach)?

Here's your receipt.

Parents, you've been played. The groups claiming to advocate for your children while taking Meta's money have been running interference for one of the most sophisticated child exploitation operations in human history. They wanted you focused on "app store accountability" while Meta turned your daughters into products for predators.

Big Tech is failing our children, and now we know Meta knew this was happening for years. What we need is real platform accountability combined with parents who refuse to hand unlimited smartphone access to children who aren't ready for it.

Stop asking app stores to fix Meta's problems.

Demand that Meta fix Meta's problems.

Better yet, take the damn phone away until these companies prove they can protect children instead of serving them up to predators for profit.

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Robert Hunter's avatar

SM can't be fixed, its profit driven and will always maximize profits at your expense. Purely mind control of the worst kind.

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EyesOpen's avatar

Thank you for investigating and reporting on this important issue. Meta has gone dark and dangerous. Perhaps it is time to consider shutting it down if it cannot protect children and vulnerable adults.

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Robert Hunter's avatar

It's a mind toxin by nature and it can't be fixed.

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Christina Dinur's avatar

"The filing also reveals that Meta paid the National PTA and Scholastic six-figure sums to conduct outreach on its behalf, a choice motivated by the perception, in the company’s own words, that these organizations could ‘get [their] materials into the hands of parents, grandparents, and educators at scale.’”

To me this is the most upsetting part - that our nation's oldest "child advocacy" org (National PTA) continues to take money from Meta, promote Meta products to kids and teens, and actively helps whitewash Meta's reputation in the public eye. Last spring, Smartphone Free Childhood US sent an open letter to National PTA leadership signed by hundreds of PTA members, medical professionals, education experts, parents, and advocates urging them to end this sponsorship. PTA was not open to the idea at that time but I can only hope that as more and more awful news comes out about Meta maybe they will finally do the right thing and end this disgraceful partnership.

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Robc's avatar

It's Meta, Discord, Roblox -- time for the Feds to start subpoenaing all of their executive's tech devices / bank accounts and see if they track to traffickers or CSM rings.

Roblox: https://hindenburgresearch.com/roblox/

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Killahkel's avatar

Awesome.

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Conni Jespersen's avatar

Thank you, thank you for posting about this. You are truly needed in this social media era.

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Matt's avatar

One can't help but speculate that there is more than just a bottom line here. There is too much prevalence. The members of Meta's leadership are quite likely enjoying the fruits of trafficking as well as facilitating it.

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Crimson's avatar

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Teens get sexually exploited on the internet!

Where were the parents? Posting selfies and downloading porno.

A clue to the parental estrangement phenomenon.

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Stosh Wychulus's avatar

The Zucker revealed who he was long ago when he posted online pictures of freshman girls at Harvard to be rated by their appearance. He is one of many high function sociopathic oligarchs who are infecting the country.

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Christine Paquette's avatar

Oh course they knew. When there is no conscience, no accountability and no oversight, evil will do what evil will do, prey and profit.

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Crimson's avatar
4hEdited

Yes the porno-brained men of the internet are insatiable. That’s why we should have age-gated or outright banned hardcore pornography and not bought the bullshit argument that it’s free speech.

The internet would be a much much better place. This is 30 years in, now. Alas. The consequences of the voracious appetites of predatory men being fed a steady diet of novel new ways to geek out continue to play out to a chorus of denial.

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Shannon's avatar

I agree. Porn should not be classed as free speech. It’s very nature is the use and exploitation of others. It is predatory and endangers both those that make it and those that view it.

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Mark L's avatar

Its far worse than what you have described

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Chris's avatar

I don’t understand why they can’t be classed as publishers and made liable for what’s sent on their network. Yes, it would probably destroy their businesses but so what? They seem to do more harm than good.

Here in the UK, if I’m caught with child pornography on my phone I would probably face criminal charges. Facebook etc have such material on their networks. What’s the difference?

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Katharine's avatar

So what is the plan to combat this issue? I asked AI it says AI can prevented if Meta chooses to use AI. However, AI says Meta won't choose to do that because of the money Meta makes from Child Sex-Trafficking. Am I fooled by AI?

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J.C. London's avatar

evil

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Rebecca Fleisher's avatar

Wtf!!!!!!!!!!

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