A recent Meta survey indicates that 19% of Instagram users aged 13 to 15 reported encountering unwanted nudity or sexual images on the platform. This statistic emerged from a court filing related to a federal lawsuit against Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri acknowledged the survey results in a deposition, though he cautioned that self-reported surveys can be "notoriously problematic." The survey was conducted in 2021, according to Meta spokesperson Andy Stone. Meta is currently facing numerous lawsuits and allegations from global leaders, accusing the company of designing addictive products that contribute to a mental-health crisis among minors.
Stone clarified that the explicit image statistic stems from user self-reporting, not a direct review of platform content. He noted that Meta has a policy to remove content containing nudity or explicit sexual activity for teen users, with exceptions for medical or educational material.
Furthermore, the deposition revealed that approximately 8% of users in the same age group reported seeing self-harm content or threats on Instagram. Mosseri stated that most sexually explicit images were shared via private messages, a challenge for Meta due to user privacy concerns.