Meta Platforms launched paid subscription tools last year on Instagram and Facebook. However, these tools are being misused by adults who’re seeking profit by exploiting their children.
Recently, two teams inside Meta raised concerns after noticing that hundreds of so-called “parent-managed minor accounts” were using the subscription feature to sell exclusive content to subscribers, not available otherwise. This content, featuring young girls in bikinis and leotards was being sold to a predominantly male audience and was mainly intended to arouse sexual interest towards the children through comments. The teams at Meta raised concerns that the subscription feature was launched without basic child-safety protections.
While these images being uploaded weren’t showcasing any nudity or other illegal content, employees at Meta found evidence that parents understood that the content they were putting up was intended at adult’s sexual gratification. As per reports, some parents even instigated conversations and had their children interact with subscriber’s vulgar comments.
The subscription feature was launched by Meta last year in an effort to provide influencers and content creators monetary motivation to upload content. Meta rolled out this feature only for accounts belonging to adults, who were able to sell their content and collect donations from their followers. However, the platform seems to not have taken into consideration child-safety concerns as it continues to allow adults to co-manage their accounts in their child’s name.
Rival platforms like TikTok and Patreon have banned subscriptions on accounts that feature child models. Meta could implement the same. Employees at Meta have suggested that accounts that offer subscriptions to child-focused content could have themselves registered, allowing Meta to monitor them. However, Meta planned something different.
The company built an automated system that prevents suspected viewers of explicit content from being allowed to subscribe to parent-run accounts. However, there remains the threat of the system failing or the user setting up a new account.
Meta put out a statement stating that it launched creator monetisation tools with a robust set of safety measures and multiple checks on both creators and their content. The company is still planning additional safety protocols to enforce child-safety.