San Francisco Orders Meta to Stop ‘Allowing’ AI Child Abuse Ads
wired ·
San Francisco's city attorney has sent Meta a cease-and-desist letter demanding it stop allowing paid advertisements containing AI-generated child sexual abuse content and explain how such ads repeatedly ran on its platforms. The letter follows a Tech Transparency Project investigation that found over 350 such ads in recent months, reaching thousands of accounts, with some depicting real minors in sexual acts and directing users to AI apps for creating nonconsensual intimate imagery. Meta argued the ads were outside the city attorney's jurisdiction, but the city's office rejected that claim, noting San Francisco consumers could access the ads online. Meta maintained that all the ads were removed and that total ad spend was under $5,000, while the city attorney called the scale and persistence of the issue 'woefully inadequate.' The letter asks Meta to disclose how its moderation missed the ads, how it reports incidents to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and how it handles repeat offenders, giving the company 28 days to respond. The Tech Transparency Project's director says new ads featuring the same children have continued to run even after the report. Meta did not immediately respond to questions about these new ads.
wired