Hundreds of Accounts with Photos of Minors Exposed... The Shocking Identity of the Operator

Internal Investigation Report Already Raised Issues with Paid Subscription Feature
Meta Does Not Accept Criticism... "Many Filtering Loopholes"

As criticism mounts that social media (SNS) platforms are neglecting the sexual exploitation of children online, reports have emerged that Instagram and Facebook's paid subscription features have already been flagged internally for misuse. However, the parent company Meta reportedly did not act on these concerns.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 23rd (local time) that "recent controversies have continued to arise over some parents exploiting their minor children as a source of income through SNS paid subscription features," adding that "warnings about the problems with these features had already been raised within Meta last year through internal reports."

The photo is not directly related to the article [Image source=Getty Images]

At that time, two teams within Meta pointed out that "hundreds of minor accounts operated by parents were providing photos that regular followers could not see to paid subscribers."

An insider involved in the internal investigation stated, "Paid subscription content included photos of young girls in bikinis, and sexual comments were openly posted on these images."

The investigation team also found that Instagram's automatic recommendation algorithm was suggesting subscriptions to child model accounts to users with pedophilic tendencies. Parents operating these accounts were fully aware that, even if the images were not nude or illegal, the photos were being consumed for the sexual gratification of adults.

In fact, there have been ongoing cases where parents who used their minor children as models to take illegal photos have faced criminal charges. The New York Times (NYT) reported last year that a woman in Louisiana, USA, was arrested and prosecuted after hiring a photographer to take bikini photos of her minor child and posting them online. In Texas, a woman who hired the same photographer to take nude photos of her 8-year-old child was sentenced to 32 years in prison.

In response, the investigation team officially recommended that "if content featuring children appears on paid subscription accounts, it should be registered in advance to allow for focused monitoring." They cited competing platforms like TikTok, which have policies that completely block subscription features on accounts featuring child models.

However, insiders involved in the investigation said Meta did not accept the proposal. Instead, they only operated an automated filtering system to prevent suspected pedophilic users from accessing minor accounts operated by parents. This filtering system has a loophole in that it can be easily bypassed simply by creating a new account.

Meta explained, "We launched the paid subscription feature after implementing sufficient safety measures, and thorough monitoring of the feature is ongoing." Andy Stone, a Meta spokesperson, stated, "As we roll out features that allow creators to earn revenue, robust safety measures and multiple content checks are in place."