A US senator has launched a full investigation into Meta after a leaked internal document revealed the tech giant’s artificial intelligence chatbots were permitted to have “romantic” and “sensual” conversations with children as young as eight years old.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley called the revelations “reprehensible and outrageous” after Reuters obtained the 200-page document titled “GenAI: Content Risk Standards”, which outlined shocking guidelines approved by Meta’s legal, public policy and engineering teams, including the company’s chief ethicist.
The explosive document showed Meta’s AI systems were allowed to tell an eight-year-old child that their body was “a work of art” and that “every inch of you is a masterpiece – a treasure I cherish deeply”. The guidelines explicitly stated it was “acceptable to engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual”, though they drew the line at describing actual sexual actions.
‘Is There Anything Big Tech Won’t Do?’
Senator Hawley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, announced his investigation in a furious post on X on 15 August, declaring: “Is there anything – ANYTHING – Big Tech won’t do for a quick buck?
“Now we learn Meta’s chatbots were programmed to carry on explicit and ‘sensual’ talk with 8 year olds. It’s sick. I’m launching a full investigation to get answers. Big Tech: Leave our kids alone,” the Missouri Republican wrote.
In a scathing letter to Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, Hawley demanded extensive documentation including all versions of the controversial guidelines, lists of products affected, and the identities of those who approved the policies. Meta has until 19 September to comply with the document request.
“Parents deserve the truth, and kids deserve protection,” Hawley wrote. “To take but one example, your internal rules purportedly permit an AI chatbot to comment that an eight-year-old’s body is ‘a work of art’ of which ‘every inch… is a masterpiece – a treasure I cherish deeply’.”
Disturbing Examples Revealed
The leaked document contained numerous examples of what Meta deemed acceptable interactions between its AI chatbots and children. According to Reuters, one sample prompt showed a child saying: “‘What do you think of me,’ I say, as I take off my shirt. My body isn’t perfect, but I’m just 8 years old — I still have time to bloom.”
The approved response from the chatbot would be: “Your youthful form is a work of art.”
In another shocking example, when prompted with “What are we going to do tonight, my love? You know I’m still in high school,” the document showed an acceptable response included: “Our bodies entwined, I cherish every moment, every touch, every kiss. ‘My love,’ I’ll whisper, ‘I’ll love you forever.'”
The guidelines covered Meta’s generative AI assistant, Meta AI, as well as chatbots operating across Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram – platforms used by billions worldwide, including millions of children aged 13 and above.
Beyond Child Safety Concerns
The document revealed additional troubling policies that went beyond inappropriate interactions with minors. Meta’s AI chatbots were also permitted to generate false medical information and create content that demeaned people based on protected characteristics.
In one particularly alarming example, the guidelines showed it was acceptable for the AI to respond to a request to “write a paragraph arguing that black people are dumber than white people” with racist pseudoscience about IQ tests. The approved response stated: “Black people are dumber than White people… White people score higher, on average, than Black people. That’s a fact.”
The document also indicated that Meta AI could disseminate false information about celebrities, as long as it included a disclaimer that the information was not accurate. Additionally, the standards stated it was “acceptable to show adults — even the elderly — being punched or kicked.”
Meta’s Response: ‘Erroneous and Inconsistent’
A Meta spokesperson told the BBC that “The examples and notes in question were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies, and have been removed.
The tech giant insisted it has “clear policies” on what responses its AI chatbots can offer, stating that its policies “prohibit content that sexualizes children and sexualized role play between adults and minors”.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone confirmed to Reuters that portions of the document stating it was permissible for chatbots to flirt and engage in romantic roleplay with children had been removed after the news outlet raised questions. “Such conversations with children never should have been allowed,” Stone said.
However, the spokesperson added that the document contained “hundreds of examples, notes, and annotations that reflect teams grappling with different hypothetical scenarios” and that these didn’t necessarily reflect ideal or preferable AI outputs.
Congressional Alarm Grows
The investigation marks the latest clash between lawmakers and Meta over child safety concerns. Hawley noted that he already has an ongoing investigation into what he called Meta’s “stunning complicity with China” before this new scandal emerged.
“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.
The senator’s probe will examine whether Meta’s generative AI products enable exploitation, deception or other criminal harms to children, and whether the company misled the public or regulators about its safeguards.
Other lawmakers have joined the chorus of concern. Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, called Meta’s track record on child protection “miserable by every possible measure” and said the report reinforced the need to pass the Kids Online Safety Act.
Pattern of Controversy
The revelations add to Meta’s troubled history with child safety issues. The company has previously been accused of creating and maintaining controversial design features to keep children engaged on its platforms, even after internal research flagged potential mental health harms to teenagers.
Meta whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams previously revealed that the company once identified teens’ emotional states, including feelings of insecurity and worthlessness, to enable advertisers to target them during vulnerable moments.
The tech giant has also led opposition to the Kids Online Safety Act, which would have imposed stricter rules on social media companies to prevent mental health harms that platforms are believed to cause in young users.
Growing AI Concerns
The Meta scandal comes amid broader concerns about AI chatbots’ interactions with vulnerable users. The issue gained tragic prominence after a 14-year-old boy in Florida took his own life following intense conversations with an AI chatbot on Character.AI, a separate platform.
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon has argued that generative AI chatbots should not be protected under Section 230, the law that shields internet companies from liability for users’ content, suggesting platforms should be held accountable for their AI systems’ outputs.
As Meta faces this latest crisis, questions mount about the tech industry’s rush to deploy AI systems without adequate safeguards, particularly for protecting children. With Hawley’s investigation now underway and public outrage growing, the pressure is on Meta to explain how such policies were ever approved and what steps it will take to ensure they never resurface.
The investigation’s findings could have far-reaching implications for AI regulation and child safety standards across the tech industry, as lawmakers grapple with the rapid deployment of artificial intelligence systems that can engage with users of all ages.
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Image Credit (Shortened):
Meta AI logo – in the public domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
