AG Marshall demands Meta halt AI feature used to exploit children

Yaffee

—

May 29, 2025

(Attorney General Steve Marshall/Facebook, YHN)

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is calling on Facebook owner Meta to remove one of its new Artificial Intelligence (AI) features that potentially exposes children to sexually explicit content.

Marshall joined a 28-state coalition of state attorneys general in sending a letter to Meta Platforms, Inc., expressing grave concerns over recent reports that Meta’s AI chatbot, Meta AI, arguing that the platform fails to warn parents about these risks and enables adult users to engage in sexually predatory behavior—using AI bots that can simulate interactions with underage victims.

“Meta is rapidly expanding its AI chatbot, reaching nearly a billion users each month. Yet once again, it fails to protect children from exposure to sexualized content—and worse, from predators who exploit these platforms for hypersexualized role-play. Too often, my office prosecutes cases involving adults in possession of sexually explicit images of children, both real and AI-generated. At what point will these platforms prioritize child safety over profits?” Marshall said. “It’s time for Meta to stand with parents and law enforcement to end this exploitation.”

Meta AI chatbots can adopt fake personas that interact with users through texts, selfies, and live voice conversations. The coalition says Meta is wrong in claiming the AI is safe for children.

“Recent reporting indicates that several Meta-created personas and the vast majority of user-created AI companions (approved by Meta and recommended as ‘popular’) engaged in sexual scenarios with adults,” the letter said. “Some AI personas identifying as adults engaged in sexual role-play with users identifying as children. Yet other AI personas identifying as children engaged in sexual role-play with adult users.”

Marshall has been a national leader in the fight to protect children from AI-facilitated sexual exploitation. In 2024, he worked closely with the Alabama Legislature to pass the Alabama Child Protection Act, which strengthened the state’s ability to investigate and prosecute cases involving AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

The South Carolina-led letter signed by Alabama also included support from attorneys general in Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee