Tech advancements and accountability
At Meta, we know that one of our most important responsibilities is to keep young people safe online. We use industry-leading tools to fight child sexual exploitation, and we immediately report violating content to NCMEC (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children).
Overview
We strive to be open and proactive in the way we safeguard people's privacy, security and access to information online. This includes transparency about our child safety technology. We believe that increased transparency leads to more accountability and responsibility.
Technological interventions
We take a three-pronged approach to child protection: prevent, control and respond. This approach is tailored to each technology, whether for a public Facebook profile or Instagram message. We've also worked to improve our understanding of why people may share child exploitation material on our platforms. Doing so helps us to develop effective, targeted technological solutions.
In our private-messaging services, we use a mix of tools to prevent, detect and respond to harmful content. Messenger and Instagram chats have a feature to caution teens when interacting with an adult they may not know. This empowers them to take action before responding to a message. On WhatsApp, we also have customized features and controls that help prevent exploitation and abuse.
We've also added new tools and resources to support parents and teens in VR and on Instagram.
Additionally, we use detection technologies to find, remove and report exploitative content. For example, we use image matching tools to scan for potential child sexual abuse material as content is uploaded.
Another advancement is the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to respond to a variety of harms, including the posting of child nudity, unwanted interactions between adults and teens, and possible “grooming.”
These and all other related initiatives are always ongoing. Learn more about our efforts to protect young people in public and private online spaces.
Partnerships
Child protection requires a global response. Action is required from industry leaders, law enforcement, government, civil society and families. We are committed to working with stakeholders to build and support the child-safety ecosystem. We also work with the Tech Coalition, an alliance of global companies working together to protect children online.
