Mark Zuckerberg, Meta sued over their failure to address sex trafficking, child exploitation

Mark Zuckerberg and other Meta Platforms Inc executives and directors have been accused in a new lawsuit over their inability to address sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation on their platforms. The Meta-owned social media apps, Facebook and Instagram have found themselves in troubled waters over this accusation.

The complaint was made public late Monday by several pension and investment funds that own Meta stock. They claimed that Meta’s leadership and board have failed to protect the company’s and shareholders’ interests by turning a blind eye to ‘systemic evidence’ of criminal activity.

Talking about the board’s failure to give an explanation on this, the complaint said, “The only logical inference is that the board has consciously decided to permit Meta's platforms to promote and facilitate sex/human trafficking.”

Meta has rejected the basis of the lawsuit, which was filed in Delaware Chancery Court. Meta released an official statement on Tuesday saying, “We prohibit human exploitation and child sexual exploitation in no uncertain terms. The claims in this lawsuit mischaracterise our efforts to combat this type of activity. Our goal is to prevent people who seek to exploit others from using our platform.”

In 2019, Zuckerberg, Meta’s co-founder and chief executive told Congress that child exploitation was one of the most serious threats that the company focuses on.

Previous similar accusations on Meta

The California-based multi-billionaire tech company Meta has long faced accusations that its platforms are a safe haven for sexual misconduct. In June 2021, the Texas Supreme Court allowed three people who became entangled with their abusers through Facebook to sue, saying Facebook was not a “lawless no man’s land” immune from liability for human trafficking.

Meta separately faces hundreds of lawsuits from families of teenagers and younger children who claimed to suffer mental health problems due to these social media platforms. Some school districts have also filed lawsuits over the problem.

Monday’s lawsuit is also one of many such cases where shareholders sue officers and directors who allegedly breached their duties.

Those behind the suit include the Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Rhode Island, Kiwi Investment Management Wholesale Core Fund, and Teamsters Pension Fund, according to the filing.

(With inputs from agencies)

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