as both state and federal governments became# more aggre The U.S. Department of Justice and# Google are awaiting the verdict of a## landmark antitrust trial that alleges# Google's anti-competitive behavior## led to its dominance.

And Meta is# now the target of state lawsuits,## alleging it harmed the mental health of kids# and misled the public about online safety.

Stephanie Sy focuses on that part of the story.

STEPHANIE SY: Amna, more than 40 states# and the District of Columbia against Meta, the parent company of# Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

State attorneys general argue that Facebook and# Instagram deliberately manipulate their apps## in ways that addict kids and teens and have# failed to keep them off, despite age limits.

Colorado Attorney General Phil# Weiser helped lead the lawsuit.

PHIL WEISER (D), Colorado Attorney# General: Meta, under federal law,## cannot and should not be mark or consent.

They're doing just that.

Meta has# identified young people, 11-, 12-year-olds,## as an untapped and valuable audience, and# engaged in behavior in violation of federal law.

STEPHANIE SY: There have been multiple stories# as well focusing on Meta's struggles to protect## kids from online predators and even promoting# pedophile accounts through its algorithms.

Jeff Horwitz's reporting in The Wall# Street Journal has led to increased public## and legal scrutiny of social media,# and it's the focus of his new book,## "Broken Code: Inside Facebook and the# Fight to Expose Its Harmful Secrets."

Jeff, thanks so much for joining the "NewsHour."

The state's lawsuit, I want to go back to# that public about the risks to teens and younger# children.

You published an investigation## recently about pedophiles on the platform.

Talk# about some of the disturbing things you found.

JEFF HORWITZ, The Wall Street Journal: Sure.

I think all seeking out sort of communities that are willing# to consume content voraciously and then serving## it up to them.

And that can be good.

That can# connect you with useful hobbies.

It can also## connect people who desperately want to believe# the 2020 or the 2024 election is being stolen,## for that matter.

And it can connect# people who wish to sexualize children.

And so the system is really good at that.# It is extremely good at personalization.## The problem is that it frequently is# operating well beyond the capacity of## even the people who run it to understand# and intervene to stop harmful outcomes.

STEPHANIE SY: OK. and it led you down a pretty dark path.# For example, you found a group where## hundreds of thousands of people who were# interested in incest had joined, correct?

JEFF HORWITZ: I wish we found# only one.

This is very consistent.

The platform and its groups you should join# algorithm basically will, as soon as you start## following just a couple of slightly suspect# entities, will start pushing hard into, like,## increasingly dark content, I mean, like# really -- like really, really just, like,## awful, awful things involving the kidnapping of# children, was literally a subject of one group.

And this is routine.

The company has tried to work# on cleaning that system up.

We spent six months## sort of noting to them where they were coming up# short, and it is an ongoing problem to this day.

STEPHANIE SY: And you have another# article out just in the last few days## about Meta's introduction of encrypted messaging,# encrypted messaging on Faceboo Talk about how your reporting# shows the impact that that can## have on efforts to stop child# exploitation on the platform.

JEFF HORWITZ: Yes.

So, for years, encryption has law enforcement and governmental groups are# against because it impedes investigations.

I## think something that has kind of gone# unnoticed, but will perhaps soon be## noticed because Meta is adopting end-to-end# encryption both Facebook and Instagram,## is how this technology, when used, paired# with a fully public social network,## becomes something potentially really volatile# and potentially really useful for predation.

Because having one entity that# is attempting to sort of prey## on another group, whether that's for# human trafficking, child exploitati recruitment of people for drug cartels, and not# having any insight into the system is something## that is really going to be a problem for# certain efforts to combat that stuff.

So, in other words, if you can't# actually investigate the networks## using the methods that traditionally# these investigations have been done with, you're going to have groups such as those# large pedophile groups that are actively## connecting people and then sending them# pretty much straight into the Dark Web.

STEPHANIE SY: And law enforcement,# you have given examples,## have used messaging and their ability to# access that messaging Meta, of course, believes that privacy is# the goal here, and that's why they want the## encryption.

Meta has also issued responses to# your reporting, including the recent report on## pedophile content on the platform, in which they# say: "We work hard to stay ahead.

That's why we## hire specialists dedicated to online child# safety, develop new technology that roots## out predators, and we share what we learn# with other companies and law enforcement."

The statement goes on to say:# "We are actively continuing## to implement changes identified by the# task force we set up earlier Jeff, that's a reference to the child# task force that was set up after your## reporting in June about content --# explicit child content on Instagra My question is, has Meta addressed all the## issues you have uncovered in your# reporting an JEFF HORWITZ: Certainly not,# not on any of those fronts.

No, the task force has been shut down.# They haven't really paid much attention## to that or highlighted that much, and even# though the problems are still ongoing.

No,## I think there are, I think, some fundamental# questions of the platform wanting to not take## responsibility for the ways that it# has reformulated human communication.

This is something where they're like,# oh, this is just the Internet.

People## do bad things on the Internet.

Who# are we to be able to stop that?

The issue that arises here is# that none of the communities## that exist on these platforms are# ones that would form in real life.

STEPHANIE SY: Jeff Horwitz, author of the new## book "Broken Code," thank you so# much for j JEFF HORWITZ: Thank you.