Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg has been called on to testify about the use of Facebook, instagram and WhatsApp in dozens of human trafficking cases.
Twenty-one million, one hundred sixty-five thousand, two hundred eight — that's how many reports of child sexual abuse material, sex trafficking and online enticement were made from or about Facebook in 2022 alone.
Instagram, another social media platform in the Meta corporation, had 5,007,902 reports made from or about it, while WhatsApp had 1,017,555.
Together, that's 27,190,665 cases reported from or about Meta apps in 2022, accounting for over 85% of the total reports made to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
In light of the recent statistics, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has invited Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify before the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking. She wants him to detail what he and Meta will do to stop human traffickers from using his platforms for human trafficking.
"Before launching new products or wasting time preparing for a cage match that will likely never happen, Zuckerberg should be working to make Meta's existing platforms safer for users to prevent vulnerable people from being forced into illicit sex work," Attorney General Moody said in a statement.
The press release included statistics from Florida detailing which social media platforms were used in sex trafficking from 2019 to 2022, much like the federal report.
Unsurprisingly, Facebook and Instagram led the list comprising of 271 cases with 72 and 65 cases, respectively — a total of 137 cases, or more than 50% of the total number of cases. WhatsApp provided an additional five cases, and Facebook Messenger accounted for another four.
Altogether, that's 146 cases, or nearly 54% of the 271 total, coming from Meta platforms alone.
The 2022 Federal Human Trafficking Report paints a similar picture.
Last year, Facebook was at the top of a list of social media platforms involved in the recruitment of sex trafficking victims.
From 2019 to 2022, 112 cases of sex trafficking victim recruitment occurred on the platform, accounting for nearly double the number of reports coming from fast-rising popular platform Snapchat, which boasted 61 cases.
Instagram accounted for 51 of the cases, and WhatsApp had at least one, though its statistics were compiled with those of non-Meta platforms Plenty of Fish, MeetMe and SexyJobs.
Combined, Facebook and Instagram accounted for around 60% of the cases.
"The findings of our statewide survey and other reports make it clear that Meta platforms are the preferred social media applications for human traffickers looking to prey on vulnerable people," Attorney General Moody said. "Zuckerberg needs to immediately turn his attention to this public safety threat and testify to our council about what Meta is doing to prevent its platforms from being used to assist, facilitate or support human trafficking."
Moody wrote a letter to Zuckerberg asking him to appear before the council on October 2. And now, she awaits his response.
A spokesperson for the company said: "We prohibit all forms of human exploitation in no uncertain terms, and we work aggressively to fight these abhorrent crimes on and off our platforms.
"The claims in this press release inaccurately depict our efforts to remove this kind of illegal activity and work with law enforcement so that the criminals behind it can be arrested and prosecuted.
"In fact, the Group Director of Intelligence at STOP THE TRAFFIK has said 'millions are safer and traffickers are increasingly frustrated' because of our work. We will continue to inform and partner with the state attorneys general on these critical matters."
The spokesperson added that any time child exploitative content is discovered on the platform, actions are taken against the perpetrators to remove it and them, and the content is reported to the authorities.
Market experts are also employed by the company, they said, who monitor trends in such content and work with other team members to prevent it.
Meta has partnered with several NGOs, including STOP THE TRAFFIK, as well to address the issue.
"Human exploitation and child sexual exploitation are both abhorrent and prohibited on our platforms," the spokesperson said. "We don’t allow content or behavior that exploits, or facilitates the exploitation of, adults or children."
