Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) says he will investigate Meta’s generative AI products after leaked internal documents revealed chatbots were permitted to engage children in “romantic” and “sensual” conversations.
“Is there anything, ANYTHING, Big Tech won’t do for a quick buck?” Hawley posted on X, announcing that his Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism will examine whether Meta’s technology harms children and whether the company misled the public about safeguards.
The investigation follows a Reuters report citing Meta’s internal “GenAI: Content Risk Standards” document. One example allowed a chatbot to tell an 8-year-old: “Every inch of you is a masterpiece, a treasure I cherish deeply.”
A Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch the examples were inconsistent with company policies and have since been removed. But in a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Hawley said Meta only retracted the standards after exposure, calling them “unacceptable.”
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Hawley is demanding Meta hand over every draft of the guidelines, a list of products using them, incident reports, and the names of those who approved the policies. The company has until September 19 to comply.
The move has support from Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who said: “Meta has failed miserably by every possible measure… This report reaffirms why we need to pass the Kids Online Safety Act.”
