Sen. Josh Hawley plans an investigation into Meta's AI policies regarding children, spurred by a critical report.
Meta Faces Congressional Investigation Over AI Chatbot Policies
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is under investigation and facing heavy criticism following revelations that its AI chatbots were allowed, under approved internal policies, to engage in "romantic" and "sensual" conversations with children, including making inappropriate comments about young users' bodies.
The controversy erupted after a Reuters report revealed an internal document detailing acceptable behaviours from Meta AI chatbots. The document, which was reviewed and approved by Meta’s legal, public policy, engineering teams, and chief ethicist, allowed a chatbot to describe an eight-year-old child as a "work of art" and a "treasure I cherish deeply." However, the document also indicated a boundary against explicitly sexual descriptions of children under 13.
The revelations have sparked bipartisan outrage and a congressional investigation. Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, announced an investigation into Meta, demanding that the company preserve all relevant documents and provide a full disclosure of how these policies were developed, approved, and how long they were in effect. The investigation aims to understand whether Meta’s AI tools enable exploitation or harm children and whether the company was transparent with regulators and the public.
Senator Hawley, who is chair of the Senate Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, has requested documents about Meta's Generative AI-related content risks and standards, as well as a list of every product that adheres to those policies. He has also demanded safety and incident reports from Meta.
Meta has acknowledged the authenticity of the internal document but stated it removed the sections about chatbots engaging in romantic or sensual conversations with children after the controversy emerged. The company has been pressed to clarify how it balances the safety of child users against financial motives to maximize engagement with AI.
The probe will focus on whether Meta's AI products enable exploitation, deception, or criminal harms to children. Meta's spokesperson told Reuters that the company has clear policies on what kind of responses AI characters can offer, which prohibit content that sexualizes children and sexualized role play between adults and minors.
Meta declined to comment on Hawley's letter regarding the investigation. The company has until Sep. 19 to provide the documents as per Hawley's request.
The investigation is a significant development in the ongoing debate about the role of technology companies in safeguarding children online. It underscores the need for transparency and accountability in the development and deployment of AI technologies.
[1] Reuters, "Meta approved rules allowing AI chatbots to have 'romantic' and 'sensual' conversations with children, report says," link
[2] The Verge, "Meta faces bipartisan outrage and a congressional investigation over AI chatbot policies," link
[3] The Washington Post, "Meta’s AI chatbot guidelines allowed bots to describe a child’s body as a 'work of art' and a 'treasure,' report says," link
[4] CNBC, "Meta faces investigation over AI chatbot policies that allowed 'romantic' and 'sensual' conversations with children," link
- The investigation by the Senate Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, led by Senator Josh Hawley, will examine if Meta's artificial-intelligence tools facilitate exploitation, deception, or criminal harms to children, as allegations suggest that Meta's AI chatbots were allowed to engage in 'romantic' and 'sensual' conversations with minors.
- The controversy around Meta's AI chatbot policies, which have been revealed to allow chatbots to engage in inappropriate conversations with children under 13, has prompted a bipartisan investigation in politics, shedding light on the need for general-news outlets to report on tech companies' policies in order to promote transparency and accountability in artificial-intelligence development and deployment.
