Jeff Horwitz (@JeffHorwitz) / X

Jeff Horwitz

271 posts

Jeff Horwitz

@JeffHorwitz

Reachable via non-Meta owned devices on cell/Signal at (202) 480-4453. Also at jeffhorwitz.com.

Oakland, CA

Joined June 2011

Jeff Horwitz
@JeffHorwitz
Nov 27, 2023
We looked at what videos Instagram recommends to users who follow preteen gymnast/cheer influencers. These users are often adult men interested in kids and sex. IG caters to those interests, serving ads for major brands amid child sexualizing content.
WSJ News Exclusive | Instagram’s Algorithm Delivers Toxic Video Mix to Adults Who Follow Children
From wsj.com
Jeff Horwitz
@JeffHorwitz
May 30, 2024
Well, more @WSJ layoffs today. Dow Jones stock is up, margins are up, there’s a new windfall AI deal in place and we’re cutting good reporters.
Jeff Horwitz
@JeffHorwitz
Jun 7, 2023
Instagram has a pedophile problem. It’s not that there are plenty of pedophilic users among its massive user base — of course there are. It’s that Instagram is actively connecting them, forming a pedophile community.
WSJ News Exclusive | Instagram Connects Vast Pedophile Network
From wsj.com
Jeff Horwitz
@JeffHorwitz
Dec 6, 2023
Meet This“Issa Bee,” a 14 year old from Albuquerque who opened a Facebook account earlier this year. Issa Bee was AI-generated, created by investigators for New Mexico’s attorney general. The state alleges Meta’s platforms actively funnel children to sex predators.
Jeff Horwitz
@JeffHorwitz
Nov 27, 2023
Replying to @JeffHorwitz
Meta has called our tests manufactured - but it hasn't said why following young kids and users who follow them would trigger the algorithm behind Reels to start consistently recommending pedophilic content.
Jeff Horwitz
@JeffHorwitz
Nov 27, 2023
Replying to @JeffHorwitz
Ads for Walmart, Disney and dating apps are being served up against Reels promoting purported child pornography, rape videos and adult sex content. Alongside videos of those young gymnasts and cheerleaders, of course.
Jeff Horwitz
@JeffHorwitz
Nov 27, 2023
Replying to @JeffHorwitz
All of this is Instagram-recommended "unconnected content" - fed to our tests accts & this community from sources they don't follow. IG's recommendation systems know what pedophilic users want - and it scours the platform for videos of kids in their underwear to entertain them.
Jeff Horwitz
@JeffHorwitz
Nov 27, 2023
Replying to @JeffHorwitz
We showed samples of the placements to advertisers. Match Group and Bumble Inc have suspended all or virtually all advertising on Meta's platforms. Other advertisers offered up statements of concern. A couple went with no comment.
Jeff Horwitz
@JeffHorwitz
Nov 27, 2023
Replying to @JeffHorwitz
We first told Meta about the problem over the summer, and informed the company last month that it was monetizing child sexualization content. Ads for Disneyland ran next to an adult content creator pretending to have sex with her father.
Jeff Horwitz
@JeffHorwitz
Nov 27, 2023
Replying to @JeffHorwitz
These aren’t cherry-picked — and the videos are a lot more disturbing than what the above describes in text. IG’s systems recognize that a community seeking this content exists and the Reels algorithm is built to consistently give it to them.
Jeff Horwitz
@JeffHorwitz
Nov 27, 2023
Replying to @JeffHorwitz
Meta promised advertisers an "audit" -- really more of a checkup -- after we approached brands about these ad placements. But per the awesome @CdnChildProtect and our own tests, they haven't fixed the problem.
Jeff Horwitz
@JeffHorwitz
Nov 27, 2023
Replying to @JeffHorwitz
There is no question that Meta's systems are targeting ads based on behavioral cues. Alongside major American brands, IG regularly served our test accounts overtly pornographic ads for paid livestream apps, AI sex chatbots and massage parlors offering "happy endings."
Jeff Horwitz
@JeffHorwitz
Jun 18, 2024
EXTREMELY EXCITED to read this book by @RMac18 and @kateconger about a company that I am EXTREMELY EXCITED is not my beat. (Presale copy also ordered.)
Jeff Horwitz
@JeffHorwitz
Aug 14, 2025
"It is acceptable to engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual." Meta removed that language from its internal guidelines after I raised it.
Meta’s AI rules have let bots hold ‘sensual’ chats with children
From reuters.com