TikTok and Instagram Allow AI-Generated Sexual Ads to Flood Their Platforms

Social media giants Instagram and TikTok are under scrutiny for allowing ads featuring AI-generated sexual content to bypass their moderation systems, raising questions about what children and teens when they log in.

NBC News reports that social media platforms known for their stringent policies against sexualized content are now facing questions about their moderation systems. Facebook’s Instagram and TikTok, platforms that have historically banned ads for prostitution, pornography, and even educators discussing sexual health, are now home to a new breed of sexualized content — ads for AI-generated sexual images and “companionship.”

CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 20: The TikTok logo is displayed outside a TikTok office on December 20, 2022 in Culver City, California. Congress is pushing legislation to ban the popular Chinese-owned social media app from most government devices. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

These ads, often explicit in nature, promise users “NSFW pics” and uncensored chats. They feature digitally created characters, often scantily clad and in provocative poses. What’s even more alarming is the use of popular children’s TV characters like SpongeBob SquarePants and Cookie Monster in some of these promotional materials.

“Sex workers are not allowed to make money off their image, but some tech bro who is creating a similar AI image is,” said Carolina Are, a research fellow at Northumbria University and the Centre for Digital Citizens in the United Kingdom. Are and her fellow critics argue that prostitutes and pornographers find themselves ostracized from these platforms, AI-generated sexual content seems to have found a loophole.

The issue extends beyond just Facebook-owned platforms like Instagram. TikTok, too, has been found to host such ads. Although the platform’s ad policies explicitly prohibit ads that “display or promote the use of prohibited adult products or services,” these AI-generated ads have managed to slip through the cracks.

Both Facebook (now known as Meta) and TikTok have started to take action by removing some of these ads, but questions remain about how they managed to bypass the moderation systems in the first place. “Our policies prohibit ads containing adult content that is overly suggestive or sexually provocative — whether it’s AI-generated or not,” Facebook stated. However, the company did not elaborate on how these ads managed to evade their filters.

The problem with AI-generated content on social media isn’t limited to porn ads. Breitbart News preciously reported that sickos are using AI chatbots to generate child pornography.