Meta received a cease-and-desist order from San Francisco over advertising for AI apps that promised to generate child sexual abuse imagery. City Attorney David Chiu issued the demand after the Tech Transparency Project said it found more than 250 new ads since August, taking the count since late last year above 350. Meta removed about 50 ads, yet new examples continued to pass through its review system.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu has ordered Meta to stop ads on its platforms for AI applications that promise to generate child sexual abuse imagery. Chiu's cease-and-desist order focuses on the ads passing the company's review process and reaching users on Facebook and Instagram. It asks Meta not merely to remove reported examples, but to prevent the same category of advertising from being published.[1]
The Tech Transparency Project reports finding more than 250 new ads on Meta's platforms since the beginning of August. Its count puts the total observed since late last year above 350. Some of the new advertisements used photographs of real children. The figures come from the research group's own scan, which WIRED reports alongside the city attorney's order.[1]
Meta removed about 50 ads last month, but the researchers' new count showed similar material continuing to clear advertising review. The case highlights the difference between taking down individual ads after reports and stopping new submissions before publication. San Francisco's order targets how the company's existing advertising controls handle repeated applications of the same kind, including whether new ads are accepted into the system.[1]
