Pension and investment funds have filed a complaint against Meta for having ‘turned a blind eye’ to human trafficking and pedocrime on its social networks Facebook and Instagram. The American group denied the charges.
“For the past decade, Meta’s applications have aided, supported and facilitated the work of criminals responsible for pimping, human trafficking and child abuse that have taken place on a large scale on the platforms” of the Californian group, accuses the complaint filed Monday in a Delaware court specializing in business law.
‘Substantial evidence shows that the board of directors turned a blind eye when it knew, as did the company’s management, of this growing phenomenon’, continue lawyers for the signatory funds, which hold shares at Meta.
They say traffickers use the platforms to lure, recruit and exploit victims, who are underage and adult Facebook and Instagram users, ‘whose lives are forever devastated’.
Numerous lawsuits
Meta “clearly prohibits the exploitation of humans and the sexual exploitation of children”, reacted Tuesday a spokesperson for the giant of social networks contacted by AFP.
‘The statements in this complaint do not reflect our efforts to combat this type of activity. Our goal is to prevent people who seek to exploit humans from using our platform, and we work closely with organizations like Polaris, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and Stop the Traffik,’ he said. added.
Mark Zuckerberg’s group is already facing numerous lawsuits in other areas, including the mental health of children and adolescents.
American elected officials and child protection associations accuse applications particularly popular among young people like Instagram (but also YouTube or TikTok) of causing addiction, self-esteem problems or facilitating online harassment .
/ATS