Meta announced on Wednesday that it is rolling out new AI tools to identify advertisements and accounts that may be used to secretly direct individuals to illegal child abuse material. This initiative follows the company's action against 33.2 million pieces of child sexual exploitation content on Facebook and Instagram during the first half of 2026.
The company stated that over 97% of the content it addressed was detected by its systems before users reported it. In India, Meta acted on 5.3 million pieces of such content in the same period, with more than 98% identified proactively.
Meta's latest AI tools target what it calls "signposting," where ads that appear harmless are suspected of directing users to illegal content or other harmful activities on external websites. The company is now examining where an ad sends users, rather than solely focusing on the ad's content, to block non-compliant websites and take action against associated accounts.
Additional AI-driven scans are being used to find child exploitation content that earlier systems might have missed. Meta has also introduced a "red-teaming AI agent" to test its safety measures for potential weaknesses that could be exploited by malicious actors.
These new measures come as Meta faces ongoing pressure regarding child safety on its platforms, including lawsuits and criticism from lawmakers. The company reached an agreement in August to pay up to $18 billion to settle a child safety lawsuit involving 29 U.S. states.