Meta Accused of Profiting From AI Child Abuse Ads

San Francisco's city attorney has formally demanded that Meta cease and desist from allowing paid advertisements that contain AI-generated child sexual abuse content. The company must also explain how over 350 such ads, discovered by researchers, repeatedly ran on its platforms in recent months. These ads reportedly transformed still images of minors into short video clips, with some ads directing users to download AI image and video generation apps.

The ads, which reached over 29,000 accounts across the EU, US, Australia, and India, have drawn sharp criticism. San Francisco's city attorney stated that Meta's current efforts to combat child exploitation are "woefully inadequate," especially given the ads' persistence and scale. The city office is seeking prompt discussions with Meta regarding its ad policies and safety systems.

Meta has stated that the ads were outside the city attorney's jurisdiction and that the total ad spend was under $5,000. While the company claims all identified ads have been removed for violating policies, researchers and officials point to systemic problems in detecting and preventing child sexual abuse content in advertising. The city attorney's office is demanding Meta implement systems to prevent such exploitation and clarify its reporting obligations.