Meta Inc. announced Tuesday that it is expanding its efforts to help teenage social media users avoid falling victim to “sextortion” scams. It comes just a week after senators on Capitol Hill criticized Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for failing to stop a nationwide “crisis.”
Zuckerberg is under intense scrutiny for his alleged role in a growing number of financial “sextortion” scams in which criminals trick children into sending them sexually explicit photos and videos and threaten to release them unless they pay up. facing.
The now-embattled parent company of Facebook and Instagram announced it has expanded access to a tool called “Take It Down,” which is available in 25 languages. According to the announcement.
Mehta said the expansion “will give millions more teens around the world access to this tool.”
Developed in conjunction with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the tool allows users to anonymously add digital “fingerprints” to sexually explicit photos. Once added, the “fingerprints” can be used to track copies of intimate images and quickly delete them to stop their spread, Mehta said.
Meta said it also worked with the nonprofit Thorne to “develop updated guidance for teens on how to take back control if someone is sextorting you.” Additions to Meta’s “Safety Center” also include guides for parents and teachers on how to provide support to affected teens.
Meta’s Safety Center page offers advice for teens called “5 Ways to Respond to Sextortion.”
Among them, if you are a victim of a sex-related scam, “stop responding and do not pay,” and if you are a victim of a sex-related scam, “talk to someone you trust, such as a close friend, teacher, or parent.” Contains content that encourages people to “do something.”
At last week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child sexual exploitation, Democratic Chairman Dick Durbin decried the “explosive increase” in sextortion cases. In the 10-month period from January to October last year, NCMEC received more than 22,000 reports related to crimes, compared to just 139 in all of 2021.
Durbin said Meta and other social media companies “relentlessly pursue engagement and profit over basic safety,” which “puts all of our children and grandchildren at risk” and that “America’s He accused them of inciting a crisis.
Elsewhere, Sen. Lindsey Graham told Zuckerberg, “You’ve got blood on your hands,” as the South Carolina congressman who was the target of an Instagram sextortion scam died by suicide. It highlighted the tragic incident of Brandon Guffey’s teenage son, Gavin. Guffey’s family is currently suing the company.
Mr. Zuckerberg also issued a public apology to the parents of online sexual exploitation victims. As Mehta executives spoke to a packed hearing room, some held up pictures of their children.
Critics, including New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torres, who is leading the state’s case against meth, slammed the apology as “too little, too late.”
Mr. Zuckerberg faced further criticism last week after it was revealed that Mr. Mehta’s first-ever dividend would net him $700 million a year.
At the same time, the billionaire’s personal fortune ballooned by $28 billion in one day as investors reacted favorably to Mehta’s strong earnings report.
Meta said the move aims to “give more teens control over their intimate images and give teens, their parents and teachers, more protection from those who would take advantage of them.” The aim is to help people feel better prepared and to support creators and safety organizations around the world. A global campaign to raise awareness about how to prevent sextortion. ”
Last week, Meta further tightened its restrictions to prevent teenage users from receiving direct messages from strangers.
