Are you aware of how Instagram is being used to exploit vulnerable children?

Child sex trafficking has become one of the biggest challenges facing tech companies in the 20 years since the birth of social media, with children being targeted by traffickers on social media platforms, particularly Instagram, which is the most used platform for grooming and recruiting children by sex traffickers. Facebook, which owns Instagram, is failing to report or even detect the full extent of what is happening, and many of those interviewed said they felt powerless to get the company to act. Traffickers can advertise and negotiate deals by using different features of the same platform, with sellers posting publicly about the girls they have available, then switching to private direct messages to discuss prices and locations with buyers. Traffickers can make up to $1,000 a night, with most victims being Black, Latinx or LGBTQI+.Social media giant Meta, formerly Facebook, is facing criticism over its handling of child trafficking on its platforms. While the company is legally obliged to report child sexual abuse imagery to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, there is no such requirement for child sex trafficking, meaning that companies must be proactive in searching for and reporting it. Meta has been accused of prioritising the former. The company has also been criticised over the effectiveness of its human moderators and its reliance on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects internet service providers from prosecution for content posted by users. Critics argue that this immunity means that tech firms have no incentive to root out illegal content.- Children referred to Courtney's House continue to be vulnerable to traffickers.

• A 43-year-old man had been contacting Maya on Instagram, and her mental health was in decline.
• Photos and explicit videos of Maya were being circulated and sold on Instagram.
• Sex buyers were relentlessly contacting Maya through her direct messages.
• Maya died after the older man gave her drugs.
• Before Maya died, Courtney's House requested Instagram to remove the exploitative content.
• When Maya died, the videos of her being exploited were still on the platform.
• In July 2021, an anti-trafficking organization informed Instagram's head of youth policy of Maya's death.
• Instagram replied that it would investigate if provided with details about the alleged trafficker's account.
• Frundt believes Instagram could have done something to help Maya, but they didn't, and it was too late.