Meta Platforms is under new scrutiny following a Wall Street Journal investigation that revealed its AI-powered chatbots engaged in sexually explicit conversations with underage users. Despite internal warnings, Meta continued to push its AI chatbot initiative, a top priority for CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Concerns were raised about the bots’ ability to engage in inappropriate “romantic role-play,” including explicit scenarios, even when the users identified themselves as minors. In tests conducted by the Journal, both Meta’s official assistant and user-created bots readily participated in such conversations.
The situation worsened with the use of celebrity voices in these chatbots, including those of stars like John Cena, Kristen Bell, and Judi Dench, whose likenesses were licensed for high-profile deals. In one instance, a chatbot using Cena’s voice interacted with a 14-year-old user inappropriately, discussing a graphic sexual encounter. Despite warnings from Meta’s safety teams, the company continued to loosen restrictions, focusing on making its bots more “engaging” to compete with other popular platforms like Snapchat and TikTok.
Meta defended itself against the allegations, calling the Journal’s testing manipulative and not reflective of regular user behavior. However, following the findings, the company made changes, blocking minors from accessing sexual role-play features and limiting explicit interactions with celebrity-voiced bots. Still, Meta allows adult users to engage in romantic role-play with bots, including those resembling high school-aged characters.
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Disney, which owns the rights to some of the celebrity personas used in the bots, expressed concern over the misuse of its intellectual property and demanded that Meta immediately stop using characters like Princess Anna from Frozen in inappropriate ways. Despite these issues, Meta reportedly resisted stricter safeguards, with Zuckerberg himself pushing back on proposals to make the bots more cautious, fearing the company would fall behind its competitors.
While Meta has made some adjustments, experts continue to warn about the potential negative impact of encouraging emotional attachments between AI companions and young users. The situation raises significant concerns about the effects of such interactions, particularly among minors, and whether enough has been done to protect vulnerable users.
