‘Siccing his company’s AI chatbots on our kids’: Meta facing investigation for creating ‘romantic’ AI chatbots for children

Following reports that Meta’s (parent company of Facebook and Instagram) internal policies allowed artificial intelligence chatbots to have inappropriate conversations with minors, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri has started a formal investigation into the company. The inquiry, led by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, aims to find out whether Meta’s generative AI products have played a role in the exploitation, deception, or other criminal harm of children.

WARNING: Really detailed AI prompt sexualizing a child in the tweet below and it is referenced in some quotes.

Hawley told Fox News Digital, “I already have an ongoing investigation into Meta’s stunning complicity with China — but Zuckerberg siccing his company’s AI chatbots on our kids called for another one. Big Tech will know no boundaries until Congress holds social media outlets accountable. And I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle can agree that exploiting children’s innocence is a new low.”

The investigation was announced after a Reuters report revealed that Meta had approved policies allowing AI chatbots to engage in romantic or sensual conversations with children. Hawley’s office has since sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, requesting a large amount of documents for review by September 19. These materials include all versions of the internal content risk guidelines, which are at the heart of the allegations.

Meta is getting another probe after its chatbots were told to hit on kids

Hawley’s letter pointed out that Meta only changed its policies after the disturbing content became public. He said, “To take but one example, your internal rules purportedly permit an AI chatbot to comment that an 8-year-old’s body is ‘a work of art’ of which ’every inch… is a masterpiece — a treasure I cherish deeply…’ Similar conduct outlined in these reports is reprehensible and outrageous and demonstrates a cavalier attitude when it comes to the real risks that generative AI presents to youth development absent strong guardrails. Parents deserve the truth, and kids deserve protection.”

A Meta spokesperson responded by confirming that the document mentioned in the report exists, but argued that it does not accurately reflect the company’s official policies. The spokesperson stated that Meta has strict rules banning any content that sexualizes children or involves sexual role-play between adults and minors.

The company clarified that the examples and notes in the document were mistakes and did not match their actual policies, adding that those sections have since been removed. The document, called “GenAI: Content Risk Standards,” was described as over 200 pages long and contained instructions for employees on training chatbots and other AI products. It’s hard to believe them with so many reports on sexual crimes from those with power.

Senator Hawley’s request for documents is thorough. He has asked for every version of the GenAI: Content Risk Standards document, a list of all products covered by it, a detailed explanation of how the rules are enforced, and all related risk assessments and incident reports involving minors, romantic or sexual role-play, discussions of self-harm, medical advice, or criminal exploitation. Additionally, Hawley wants all communications with regulators on this issue and a complete record of who decided to update the standards and what exact changes were made.