Meta Under Investigation for AI Child Grooming Concerns

"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," Hawley told Fox News Digital. "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."

Hawley noted that Meta acknowledged the reports and charged that the company "made retractions only after this alarming content came to light" in his letter to Zuckerberg.

"Similar conduct outlined in these reports is reprehensible and outrageous and demonstrates a cavalier attitude when it comes to the real risks that generative Al presents to youth development absent strong guardrails," Hawley continued. "Parents deserve the truth, and kids deserve protection."

A spokesperson for Meta confirmed to Fox News Digital that the document reviewed by Reuters was real but countered that "it does not accurately reflect our policies."

"We have clear policies on what kind of responses AI characters can offer, and those policies prohibit content that sexualizes children and sexualized role play between adults and minors," the spokesperson said. "Separate from the policies, there are hundreds of examples, notes, and annotations that reflect teams grappling with different hypothetical scenarios. The examples and notes in question were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies, and have been removed."