Originally published July 11, 2023 12:00 pm PDT
Florida’s Attorney General, Ashley Moody, has requested the presence of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify about the usage of Meta platforms in human trafficking cases in Florida.
The call follows a troubling survey and recent reports concerning the social media giant’s platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.
During a virtual council meeting, Moody revealed that a concerning proportion of social media-assisted human trafficking in Florida since 2019 involves Meta platforms.
More than half of the 271 reported instances in Florida were linked to Meta.
“The findings of our statewide survey and other reports make it clear that Meta platforms are the preferred social media applications for human traffickers looking to prey on vulnerable people,” Moody said.
Moody has dispatched a letter to Zuckerberg, inviting him to discuss what Meta intends to do to combat the use of its platforms by human traffickers.
Moody stressed, “Zuckerberg needs to immediately turn his attention to this public safety threat and testify to our council about what Meta is doing to prevent its platforms from being used to assist, facilitate or support human trafficking.”
The call to action comes in light of a statewide study conducted by Attorney General Moody and the council in collaboration with Florida law enforcement agencies.
The study focused on instances since 2019 in which social media has been used to facilitate human trafficking or control victims. A
ccording to Moody, the results “show that 146 of the 271 reported instances of social media platform use in human trafficking are attributable to Meta platforms—more than half of the reported instances involved.”
The 2022 Federal Human Trafficking Report has also underscored the severity of the situation.
The report revealed that from 2019-2022, Facebook was the predominant platform used for human trafficking recruitment.
Facebook and Instagram combined accounted for 60% of the top ten platforms included in the study.
Moreover, major social media sites have reported a rise in suspected child sexual abuse materials, including child sex trafficking incidents.
As reported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s 2022 CyberTipline Reports by Electronic Service Providers, an alarming 27 million, or 85%, of the incidents reported were from Meta platforms.
Moody, who released an Online Safety Toolkit last year designed to help parents and guardians educate their children about online dangers associated with human trafficking, expects a response from Zuckerberg by September 5, ahead of the next council meeting slated for October 2.
In her statement, Moody was unequivocal about the need for Zuckerberg’s action, stating that “[b]efore launching new products or wasting time preparing for a cage match that will likely never happen, Zuckerberg should be working to make Meta’s existing platforms safer for users and to prevent vulnerable people from being forced into illicit sex work.”
