Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who is also the CEO of parent company Meta Platforms, has been sued by shareholders. Pension and investment funds, among others, claim that Meta turned a blind eye to the sexual exploitation of children on its platforms for years.
The complaint has been filed in a specialized court in the US state of Delaware and is directed at former and current members of Meta’s board and management.
Over the past decade, Meta’s platforms have helped, supported and facilitated perpetrators of widespread sex trafficking, human trafficking and child sexual exploitation that have taken place on a massive scale on the platforms. “Substantial evidence shows that the board of directors, as well as the management, turned a blind eye, but was aware of this growing phenomenon,” the lawyers continue, who believe that the platforms are used to recruit victims.
A spokesperson for Meta states that the group is doing a lot to combat this problem. The spokesman says the company “emphatically prohibits the exploitation of people and the sexual exploitation of children”.
The lawsuit is one of many Meta has been dealing with lately. The company is under a magnifying glass because of the way it handles user data, but also because of alleged anti-competitive practices. The company is under fire for buying up companies that could become major competitors when they are still small. It also agreed with Google parent Alphabet about cooperation in the online advertising market.
In addition, the mental health of children and teenagers has long been a point of attention. The use of social networks hampers this, and Meta’s research showed that this applies particularly to teenage girls. But Meta kept that information to itself for a long time and did not adjust how its social networks work.
