Social media giant hit with scathing ad campaign amid anger over AI chatbots sexually exploiting kids

A nonprofit parents coalition is calling on multiple congressional committees to launch an investigation into Meta for prioritizing engagement metrics that put children's safety at risk.

The call is part of a three-pronged attack campaign by the American Parents Coalition (APC), launched Thursday. It includes a letter to lawmakers with calls for investigations, a new parental notification system to help parents stay informed on issues impacting their kids at Meta and beyond, and mobile billboards at Meta D.C. and California headquarters, calling out the company for failure to adequately prioritize protecting children.

The reporters' test conversations found that Meta's AI chatbot systems engaged and sometimes escalated sexual discussions - even when the chatbot knew the user was underage. The investigation found that the AI chatbot could also be programmed to simulate a minor's persona while engaging with the end-user in a sexually explicit conversation. 

In some instances, the test conversations were able to get Meta's chatbot to speak about romantic encounters in the voice of Disney movie characters.

"The reporting referenced in this letter doesn't reflect how people actually experience these AIs, which for teens is often in valuable ways, like helping with homework and learning new skills," a Meta spokesperson told Fox News Digital in response to the campaign. "We recognize parents' concerns about these new technologies, which is why we've put additional age-appropriate guardrails in place that allow parents to see if their teens have been chatting with AIs, and to place time limits on our apps. Importantly, we don't allow AIs to present as under 18s and we prohibit sexually explicit conversations with teens."

Per the Journal's reporting, which Meta contests, the company made multiple internal decisions to loosen guardrails around its chatbots to make them as engaging as possible. Meta reportedly made an exemption to allow "explicit" content within its chatbot as long as it is in the content of romantic role playing.

At the same time, Meta has taken steps to help improve its product safety for minor users, such as the introduction of Instagram's "Teen Accounts" with built-in safety protections that came out in 2024 amid increased scrutiny over the company's AI. 

Meta also has parental supervision tools built into its AI chatbot system that are supposed to show parents whom their kids are talking to on a regular basis, including chatbot, and has tools to shut down accounts exhibiting potential suspicious behavior tied to child sexual exploitation.