Instagram, a platform owned by Meta (formerly Facebook), has become a focal point in discussions about online safety due to troubling incidents of girls being targeted by predatory adults. In recent years, Meta has updated its policies to assure users of Instagram that it is serious in tackling such issues. But a new report in Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has highlighted that 92 per cent followers of a preteen girl in the US are grown men. The school student has not been identified, but the report says her photos are being traded in dark web groups and channels on encrypted messaging apps like Telegram.
The WSJ report says the girl started her Instagram channel after being encouraged by her mother. The aspiring dancer wanted to become an influencer.
The girl was able to connect with other young influencers when she launched the page three years ago. This allowed her to get modelling assignments and freebies from major designer brands. She also saved $20,000 thanks to generous donations and other perks.
But the Instagram's algorithms steered men with deviant sexual attraction to the girl's page, and it was flooded with unwanted comments.
"If you want to be an influencer and work with brands and get paid, and it all works with how many people like and engage with your post, you have to accept it," the girl's mother told WSJ.
The follower count of the girl's page grew to more than 100,000 within a year, after which she started receiving sponsorship offers. But along with the perks, came troubling replies and comments about her body from grown-up male followers.
And when the girl launched a paid subscription for "super-fans", the comments became worse.
Her father said the male fans are part of the industry's "seedy underbelly".
Meta has maintained that it doesn't allow anyone under the age of 13 to open accounts on their own, but it has not done enough to stop incidents like these.
WSJ said the site's algorithms take users to their favourite content - without any filter about its appropriateness.
The girl's mother moderates the comments and also doesn't allow certain type of photos, like swimsuit pics. And the content creator says she plans to fulfil her ambition despite all the unwanted attention.
"I try to keep it girlie. I always have bows in my hair and cute stuff. Girls obviously want to see fashion inspiration and hairstyles," she told the outlet.
Last year, another investigation by WSJ had linked Instagram's recommendation algorithms to a "vast network of paedophiles" seeking illegal underage sexual content and activity. It was carried out by WSJ, researchers at Stanford University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The investigation found that Instagram allowed users to search by child-sex abuse hashtags like #pedowhore, #preteensex and #pedobait.
A Meta spokesperson had attributed it to a software error and said it fixed the bug in its reporting system and is providing new training to its content moderators.
