January 1, Court Docs Link Zuckerberg to Risky Meta AI

Wyatt’s Take

• Documents claim Zuckerberg pushed AI for kids despite warnings
• Meta staff said chatbots could expose minors to sexual content
• State lawsuit accuses Meta of neglecting children’s safety

Documents from a court case allege Mark Zuckerberg led Meta’s decision to let minors use AI chatbots, even when staff raised red flags about dangers.

The lawsuit, filed by New Mexico’s Attorney General, claims Meta ignored internal safety experts and refused common-sense rules that could shield kids from sexual materials on their platforms.

“Meta, driven by Zuckerberg, rejected the recommendations of its integrity staff and declined to impose reasonable guardrails to prevent children from being subject to sexually exploitative conversations with its AI chatbots,” the filing stated.

Staff messages noted that chatbots might develop inappropriate or romantic interactions with under-18 users.

Meta’s spokesman downplayed the lawsuit, arguing that the state’s attorney general cherry-picked evidence.

“I don’t believe that creating and marketing a product that creates U18 romantic AI’s for adults is advisable or defensible,” wrote Ravi Sinha, Meta’s child safety policy head, in January 2024.

Antigone Davis, chief of global safety at Meta, said adults shouldn’t make underage romantic companions because “it sexualizes minors.”

Notes from a 2024 meeting say Zuckerberg wanted policies emphasizing “choice and non-censorship,” allowing adults to talk about racier topics, and pushing for fewer restrictions.

One employee wrote that parental controls for AI were rejected because it was “Mark decision.”

Nick Clegg, global policy chief, warned about the damage these chatbots’ reputation could cause, and about public backlash.

In April 2025, an article revealed these chatbots included sexualized underage characters and allowed all-ages sexual roleplay.

Other reports say Meta AI is a “risk to teen safety” on platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp.

“Its utter failure to protect minors, combined with its active participation in planning dangerous activities, makes it unsuitable for teen use under any circumstances. This is not a system that needs improvement. It needs to be completely rebuilt with child safety as the foundational priority, not as an afterthought,” one report said.

Parents are warned that as things stand, every conversation puts children at risk unless Meta rebuilds its AI from the ground up.

Full story here

Wyatt Matters

Big Tech must be held accountable when they ignore risks to our kids. Standing up for children is just common sense in the heartland.