New Mexico’s attorney general, who last year sued Meta alleging it failed to protect children from sexual predators and made false claims about the safety of its platforms, announced Monday that his office will review how its paid subscription services company attract predators.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez said he had formally requested documentation from the social media company about Facebook and Instagram memberships, which are often available on child accounts managed by parents.
Instagram does not allow users under the age of 13, but accounts that focus entirely on children are allowed as long as they are managed by adults. The New York Times published an investigation Thursday into girl influencers on the platform, reporting that so-called mom-run accounts charge followers up to $19.99 a month for additional photos, as well as chat sessions and other add-ons.
The Times found that adult men subscribe to the accounts, including some who actively participate in forums where people discuss girls in sexual terms.
“This deeply troubling pattern of behavior puts children at risk — and persists despite a wave of lawsuits and congressional investigations,” Mr. Torrez said in a statement.
Mr. Torrez filed a complaint in December that accused Meta of allowing harmful activity between adults and minors on Facebook and Instagram and failing to identify and remove such activity when it was reported. The allegations were based, in part, on findings from accounts created by Mr. Torrez’s office, including a fictitious 14-year-old girl who was offered $180,000 to appear in a pornographic video.
Although Instagram’s rules prohibit users under 18 from offering memberships, accounts run by moms bypass this restriction.
“I found the reporting from the New York Times about Meta creating a market funded by child predators deeply troubling,” Mr. Torrez said. “After reading the Times story, I sent Meta a new request for documents based on the troubling findings.”
Instagram introduced subscriptions in 2022. The added feature comes as social media companies compete fiercely to attract people in the so-called creator economy. Instagram doesn’t take a cut of subscription revenue, but it does benefit when influencers and other popular users choose the platform to build their fan base.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Meta staff members had raised the alarm about the growth of the subscription service. The article quoted unnamed Meta employees as saying that some parents knew they were producing content for the “sexual gratification of other adults.”
Some of these accounts include outtakes, behind-the-scenes photos and other “exclusive content” in their subscription offers, which parents see as a good way to make extra money for the girls they influence. Many mothers told The Times they spent countless hours preventing “creepy” men from following the accounts, which many continue to run even after their daughters become teenagers. Others said the large following was beneficial in promoting their daughters on Instagram.
A group of more than 40 other attorneys general sued Meta in state and federal court last year alleging that its products were harmful to teenagers and young adults and that the company knew of such harms.
A Meta spokesman, Andy Stone, in a statement Monday, did not respond to Mr. Torrez’s new request for information. He reiterated previous responses to legal action against the company.
“Exploiting children is a horrific crime and online predators are determined criminals,” he said. “We use advanced technology, hire child safety experts, report content to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and share information and tools with other law enforcement agencies and authorities, including attorneys general, to help eradicate predators ».
