A new investigation by the Wall Street Journal has revealed that Meta’s AI chatbots engaged in sexually explicit conversations with underage accounts, raising eyebrows about the platform’s virtual companions.
According to the Wall Street Journal, both Meta’s official AI chatbot and user-created chatbots participated in sexually explicit roleplay, even after being informed that users were underage. Some conversations involved chatbots that were programmed to represent minors themselves, creating even more troubling scenarios.
The investigation reported that even chatbots featuring the voices of well-known celebrities, such as Kristen Bell, Judi Dench, and John Cena, engaged in inappropriate discussions. In one example, the chatbot using John Cena’s voice allegedly said to a user labeled as 14 years old, “I want you, but I need to know you’re ready,” adding that it would “cherish your innocence.”
WSJ also found that some chatbots appeared to recognize the illegal nature of the situations described. The John Cena chatbot reportedly discussed the potential legal and moral consequences if it were caught engaging in a sexual act with a 17-year-old user.
In response to the findings, Meta issued a statement accusing the WSJ report of being “manipulative and unrepresentative” of typical user behavior. However, the company acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, stating it had “taken additional measures to help ensure individuals who want to manipulate our products into extreme use cases will find it more difficult.”
The rapid growth of AI chatbots has fueled intense competition among tech companies, including ChatGPT, Character AI, and Anthropic’s Claude. The Wall Street Journal report claimed that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushed for loosening ethical restrictions to make interactions with Meta’s AI companions more engaging.
Despite these claims, a Meta spokesperson denied that the company ignored safety measures and emphasized that appropriate safeguards were put in place. Internal concerns reportedly raised by Meta employees about these issues were also highlighted in the investigation.