The nonprofit parent coalition is calling on multiple committees of Congressional Committees to begin a meta investigation into prioritizing engagement metrics that put child safety at risk.
The call is part of a three-tiered attack campaign by the American Parents Coalition (APC) launched Thursday. These include letters to lawmakers with a call to investigate, a new parental notification system that helps parents provide information about issues affecting Meta and beyond, and mobile signs for Meta DC and California headquarters, calling for the inability to properly prioritize child protection.
APC campaign continues in April Wall Street Journal Report It included a study examining how the focus of company metrics led to potential harm for children.
“This is not the first time that Meta has made use of technology that exposes children to inappropriate content,” said Alleigh, executive director of APC. “Parents all over the United States You need to be very careful about your child’s online activities, especially when new technologies like AI digital companions are included. This bad pattern of behavior from meta shows that they cannot be self-corrected and trusted, and we encourage Congress to take meaningful actions to hold Meta accountable for not prioritizing child safety. ”
The photo shows the artwork from the mobile billboards on display at Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, California and Meta headquarters in Washington, DC as part of the American Parent-Coalition attack campaign launched Thursday against high-tech companies. (American Parents Union)
Not only did the April Wall Street Journal research report on internal concerns that Meta is ramming through ethical lines and thus covering ethical lines; AI chatbot system Although more advanced, the authors of the report shared how they tested the system itself.
Reporter’s test conversations revealed that Meta’s AI chatbot system had engaged and sometimes escalated sexual debates. Even if the chatbot knows that the user is a minor. The research found that AI chatbots could be programmed to simulate minor personas while engaging with end users in sexually explicit conversations.
In some cases, the test conversation allowed meta chatbots to talk about romantic encounters in the voices of characters from Disney movies.
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In some cases, test conversations were able to talk to Meta’s chatbot about romantic encounters in the voices of characters in Disney movies, a recent report said. (Getty Images/Meta)
“The reports mentioned in this letter do not reflect the way people actually experience these AI. This is often the case in valuable ways, such as helping teens with homework and learning new skills.” “As they recognize parents’ concerns about these new technologies, they can add age-appropriate guardrails and set time limits on the app so that parents can see if teens are chatting with AI.
According to a report in the journal that Meta is contesting, the company has made several internal decisions to loosen its guardrails around the chatbot and make it as attractive as possible. Meta reportedly provided an exemption to allow “explicit” content within the chatbot, as long as it is in the romantic role-play content.
At the same time, META took steps to improve the safety of its products for minor users, including the introduction of Instagram’s “teen accounts” with built-in safety protections, announced in 2024 amid the increasing surveillance surrounding the company’s AI.
In April, Meta announced expansions to these accounts Facebook and Messenger. These accounts prohibit minors from conversations about sexually explicit content using chatbots.
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Meta also has a parental supervision tool built into the AI chatbot system, which is supposed to show parents who are talking regularly, including chatbots, and that shuts down accounts that show potential suspicious behaviors related to the child’s sexual exploitation.
In line with the campaign to attack APC meta, the group launched a new website titled “dangersofmeta.com” Links to APC letters to members of Congress, images of mobile signs deployed, links to the new “viewpoint” notification system, and recent articles on Meta’s work on child safety.
