Washington | August 20,2026 | SKY LINK TIMES
Meta Under Fire:
US Senator Mark Warner has demanded answers from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over allegations that paid advertisements containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and non-consensual intimate images appeared across the company’s social media platforms.
In a letter dated August 18, the Virginia Democrat questioned how the advertisements passed Meta’s review systems, whether the company received revenue from them and what measures were taken to identify and remove similar content.
Warner has given Meta until August 26 to respond.
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Senator Questions Meta’s Ad Review System
Warner said it was unacceptable for such material to appear on Meta’s platforms and questioned whether the company had profited from the advertisements.
He asked Meta to explain how the ads were reviewed and approved, how much money the company received from them and what steps were taken to prevent similar content from appearing again.
The senator also requested information about when individual advertisements were detected, removed and reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), including any delays between detection and reporting.
Research Identifies Dozens of Alleged Ads
Warner cited research by the Tech Transparency Project, which reportedly identified more than 50 image and video advertisements containing exploitative material involving children in Meta’s public Ad Library.
According to the senator’s letter, the advertisements appeared across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Threads over a period of roughly nine months, from November 2025 through early August 2026.
The advertisements reportedly reached users in the United States, Britain and more than a dozen European countries. At least one advertisement was reportedly viewed by more than 2,500 social media accounts in Europe.
Some advertisements allegedly directed users towards applications or websites capable of creating non-consensual intimate images, while others reportedly used images of children to direct users towards sexually explicit material.
Earlier Investigation Reportedly Found Similar Ads in India
Warner said researchers continued to identify new advertisements even after Meta had been alerted to the issue.
The senator linked the latest concerns to a July 2026 BBC investigation that reportedly identified similar CSAM-linked advertisements running on Instagram in India.
Warner also pointed to Meta’s own advertising policies, which prohibit advertisements containing sexual or explicit imagery.
He questioned how such material could have passed the company’s advertising review process when Meta states that advertisements are reviewed before publication.
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Questions Over Chinese Resellers and Revenue
The senator also sought information about advertisements placed by 11 Chinese resellers that were reportedly removed for violating Meta’s policies concerning child abuse, exploitation or “nudify” services.
Warner asked Meta to disclose when those advertisements ran, how they were targeted, their total number of impressions, impressions among US users and the payments Meta received.
He also questioned whether Meta retained revenue generated from advertisements that were subsequently identified as violating its policies.
Additionally, Warner requested data on paid advertisements later flagged for nudity or exploitation that were shown to US users aged 13 to 18 during 2025 and 2026.
Meta Faces Growing AI Safety Scrutiny
The allegations come amid wider concerns about the misuse of generative artificial intelligence to create sexually exploitative material and non-consensual intimate imagery.
Warner introduced the SAFE AI Act in July as part of his broader legislative agenda on artificial intelligence. The proposed legislation would restrict federal agencies from procuring AI systems capable of generating CSAM or non-consensual intimate images and would prohibit software designed to circumvent AI safety controls.
The latest letter puts additional pressure on Meta to explain how its advertising systems detected, reviewed and handled the alleged violations and what safeguards are being implemented to prevent similar material from appearing on its platforms.
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