A joint investigation by The Wall Street Journal and experts from Stanford University and Massachusetts Amherst University revealed that Instagram’s recommendation algorithms are facilitating the connection and promotion of a vast network of profiles selling child pornography material.
Researchers found that the social network allows users to search for hashtags related to child sexual abuse, such as #pedowhore (pedophile) or #preteensex (preteen sex), which direct them toward profiles offering pedophilic content, including videos of minors engaged in sexual activities with animals or other children.
When users searched for these tags, Instagram displayed a warning about child sexual abuse content but allowed users to access the results anyway. The experts created profiles that followed just one of these accounts that used the aforementioned hashtags, and quickly the algorithms recommended sellers or buyers of child sexual content to them, as well as accounts linked to external selling sites. In total, they found 405 sellers on Instagram.
This similar activity was also discovered on other social networks, such as Twitter, where 128 profiles were found offering to sell child sexual abuse material. However, it was noted that Twitter did not recommend these accounts in the same way as Instagram and removed them more quickly.
The research concluded that Instagram is the most important platform for these networks of buyers and sellers of pedophile content.
In response to these findings, a spokesperson for Meta, Instagram’s parent company, stated that they have blocked thousands of hashtags that sexualize minors and have implemented restrictions to prevent algorithms from recommending terms related to sexual abuse. The spokesperson assured that the company is constantly researching ways to actively combat this behavior and that, in the last two years, they have removed 27 networks related to pedophilia.
It is important to note that child exploitation is a serious crime, and social platforms must take effective measures to prevent it from being promoted and carried out through their services.