Mark Zuckerberg's Meta platforms are more interested in censoring legal American citizens and free speech than they are in stopping criminal activity, whether it's the sex trade industry or other types of nefarious activity by criminals, according to a conservative pundit.
“Because this is a multi-billion-dollar-a-year business of child sex trafficking, they will always find a different venue or avenue to recruit or lure people but I believe that these social media giants have an obligation to public safety and this is a public safety issue when criminal organizations are utilizing their platforms to engage in sexual deviance,” said Christie Hutcherson, geopolitical security expert and founder of Women Fighting for America.
Hutcherson was responding to the news that Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody had sent a letter to Zuckerberg asking him to appear before Florida’s Statewide Council on Human Trafficking to advise what Meta is doing to prevent its platforms from being used to assist, facilitate, or support human trafficking.
Moody chairs the Florida Statewide Council on Human Trafficking.
“As chair of the Council and Florida’s attorney general, I invite you to appear before the Council to discuss this very important issue and address the council,” the July 10 letter states.
The Council’s next meeting is on Oct. 2. Zuckerberg was asked to respond to the letter no later than Sept. 5.
More than 27 million or 85% of sex trafficking incidents reported in 2022 were from Meta platforms, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“Meta has an obligation to the public,” Hutcherson told the Florida Record. “So, what are they going to do about it? What are their long-term, short-term goals, and how are they combatting it? There's so much that goes unreported just like illegals and unaccompanied children (UAC) flooding the border but they don't talk about the got away numbers."
In her letter, Moody also stated that Facebook was the top platform used in the recruitment of human trafficking victims from 2019 to 2022 and that Facebook and Instagram combined make up 60% of the top ten platforms included in the study.
Facebook and Instagram are Meta platforms along with Threads and WhatsApp.
“Major social media sites self-reported increases in suspected child sexual abuse materials, including child sex trafficking incidences,” Moody wrote. “The Florida legislature recently required the council to assess the frequency and extent to which social media platforms are used to assist, facilitate, or support human trafficking within Florida statutes.”
Hutcherson added that after receiving a blanket statement of explanation, her private personal Facebook account has been erased since July 24.
“Doesn't child sex trafficking, online enticement, and sexual abuse materials go against their community standards,” she said. “Why is there a two-tiered justice system within social media platforms? We’re battling them right now over it.”
Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.