Meta rolls out new AI tools to detect ads that secretly lead to child sexual abuse material

Meta said Wednesday it took action against 33.2 million pieces of child sexual exploitation content on Facebook and Instagram in the first half of 2026. More than 97% of that content was found by Meta's systems before users reported it, the company said. In India, Meta acted on 5.3 million pieces of such content in the same period, with more than 98% detected before user reports.

Alongside those figures, Meta is rolling out new AI tools to find ads and accounts that may secretly direct people to illegal child abuse material. Meta said the tools target ads that look harmless but send users to illegal content outside its platforms.

The company introduced a new large language model system to detect what it calls "signposting" — ads that may appear normal but are suspected of directing users to illegal content or other harmful activity elsewhere online. Meta said this is a tactic it has recently seen bad actors use as they change their methods to avoid detection. While the ads themselves may not contain illegal material, Meta said they can act as a gateway to websites hosting child sexual abuse material.

Because of this, Meta said it is now looking at where an ad sends users, not just what the ad contains. The company said it can use this information to block websites or other destinations that break its rules and take action against the accounts behind them.

Meta is also using additional AI-driven scans to find child exploitation content earlier systems may have missed, and said it will continue adding new signals as it learns more about how these networks operate.

Another new tool is a "red-teaming AI agent" that tests Meta's own safety measures, looking for weaknesses bad actors could use to get around its protections. Meta said this could help it find new methods of abuse before they become more common. The company is also improving systems for finding people who return to its platforms with new accounts after previous accounts were removed.

The measures come as Meta continues to face pressure over the safety of children on its platforms, including lawsuits and criticism from lawmakers. In August, Meta reached an agreement to pay up to $18 billion to settle a child safety lawsuit involving 29 U.S. states. Meta has introduced several child-safety features this year, including parental controls for Meta AI, pre-teen accounts on WhatsApp, and alerts for parents when children search Instagram for self-harm content. In September, WhatsApp added more controls for parents, letting them limit how teenagers use Channels, control who can see their status updates, and decide who can add their children to groups, with notifications about certain group activity.