Meta executives were warned about 5,00,000 cases of online sexual exploitation per day, records reveal

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A newly unsealed set of court documents has put fresh pressure on Meta, revealing internal warnings about the scale of online sexual exploitation happening on its platforms.

According to the documents, a senior researcher at Meta warned company executives that there could be as many as 500,000 cases of sexually inappropriate messages targeting users every single day on Facebook and Instagram. The warning came ahead of a major trial in New Mexico that accuses Meta of failing to protect children online.

The trial, brought by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, is set to begin with opening arguments on Monday. The lawsuit claims Meta exposed children to serious risks, including sexual exploitation, sextortion schemes, and human trafficking, while also contributing to mental health problems like anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide among teens.

At the centre of the revelations is an internal email written in June 2020 by Malia Andrus, who worked in child safety roles at Meta between 2017 and 2024. In the email, Andrus wrote that predators were targeting “around 500,000 victims per day in English-speaking markets alone” with sexually inappropriate messages. She added that the real number could be even higher.

In another message cited by the state, Andrus warned that the sheer size of Meta’s platforms had given predators an unprecedented advantage. She wrote that never before in human history had someone been able to secretly contact hundreds or thousands of people so easily, adding that she was “actually scared of the ramifications.”

The New Mexico lawsuit is one of several legal challenges Meta is facing this year. In California, a separate trial is underway accusing Meta and YouTube of fueling social media addiction among young users. Meta is also dealing with renewed antitrust pressure after the US Federal Trade Commission appealed a recent court loss.

New Mexico’s case has drawn particular attention because of the details uncovered during the investigation. According to court filings, test accounts created by state investigators were quickly flooded with adult sexual content and messages from alleged predators. Some messages reportedly included explicit images, while one even offered a six-figure payment to appear in a pornographic video.

The documents also highlight concerns about Instagram’s age verification tools. Andrus reportedly warned internally that these systems were easy to fool and often failed to correctly identify users who lied about their age.

Meta has pushed back against the claims. A company spokesperson said the internal emails were part of ongoing efforts to improve child safety and accused the state of making sensational claims. Andrus, who now works in an online safety role at OpenAI, declined to comment.

As the trial begins, the case is expected to shine a harsh light on how tech companies handle child safety and what they knew behind closed doors.