Meta allowed hundreds of advertisements featuring AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery to be shared through its advertising networks, according to recent reports. Over the past year, the company reportedly permitted at least 350 such ads, which included images of minors paired with text promoting illegal activities. These ads were identified by the non-profit organization Tech Transparency Project (TTP), which specializes in monitoring online content. The director of TTP told Wired that these advertisements were not hidden or disguised and were openly circulated between November 2025 and August 2026. Despite Meta’s claims of improving its ability to detect and block such content, TTP found that the number of ads depicting child sexual exploitation had increased significantly over time. Among the more than 250 advertisements reviewed by TTP, some included real portraits of children that had been misused for illegal purposes. One of these images was taken from the official portrait of a minor from a European royal family. Other ads showed young girls in suggestive poses, accompanied by text such as "I can show you more" or "realize your unspoken fantasies through generative AI." These ads specifically targeted men, with promotional messages stating, "Here is the AI that men actually use." Although these contents violated Meta's terms of use, they were published through the company's advertising system, which implies they were reviewed and approved by Meta. The organization reportedly collected advertising revenue from these ads, even if not all were active during the initial analysis. The content was seen by over 29,000 accounts across European Union countries such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands, as well as more than 7,000 accounts in the United Kingdom. The ads also appeared in the United States, Australia, and India, across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Threads. When TTP reported 129 instances of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to Meta, the company responded that it had reviewed 57% of the cases and determined they did not violate its advertising policies. In 43% of the cases, the content was removed, though six ads remained visible in the Ad library. After Wired contacted Meta, those six were eventually taken down. The remaining content was labeled as violating Meta's terms related to child sexual exploitation and adult nudity. Meta stated in the summer of 2026 that it was continuously improving its content moderation systems, claiming to have removed 36 million pieces of content related to child sexual exploitation. However, TTP found new content involving real children, mostly from the United States. Some of the minors involved had accounts on Meta platforms, and their images were misused for illegal ads. All such content has been reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), a U.S. organization that helps platforms detect child sexual abuse content. Experts are concerned about the rise of AI-generated content. In May, Véronique Béchu, director of an organization fighting digital harassment, warned that AI-generated material complicates investigations. Similarly, the Internet Watch Foundation and lawyer Clare McGlynn have raised concerns about the potential for AI to reinforce harmful stereotypes and increase violence against minors. TTP’s findings were linked to Chinese advertising companies involved in a surge of ads for "nudification" apps. One such company, Meet Social, had been a key partner for Meta in managing Chinese advertising. Although Chinese users cannot access Meta’s platforms, the company still earns revenue in China through third-party partners like Meet Social, which allows it to target international audiences. China was also identified as a major source of problematic ads, including scams. These findings were revealed as Meta agreed to pay $18 billion to settle a lawsuit brought by four U.S. states concerning the protection of minors.