Minute by minute: They post internal Facebook documents

For years, Facebook has struggled to crack down on content related to what it calls domestic servitude: “A form of human trafficking in order to work within private homes through the use of force, fraud, coercion, or deception.” , according to internal Facebook documents reviewed by CNN.

The company was aware of the existence of human traffickers using its platforms in this way since at least 2018, documents show. It got so bad that in 2019, Apple threatened to remove Facebook and Instagram’s access to the App Store, a platform the social media giant relies on to reach hundreds of millions of users each year.

Internally, Facebook employees were quick to remove problematic content and make emergency policy changes to avoid what they described as a “potentially serious” business consequence.

But while Facebook managed to allay Apple’s concerns at the time and prevent the app store’s withdrawal, problems persist. The stakes are high: Facebook documents describe trafficked women being subjected to physical and sexual abuse, deprived of food and wages, and travel documents confiscated so they cannot escape.

Earlier this year, an internal Facebook report noted that “there are still gaps in our detection of people with rights on the platform who engage in domestic servitude” and detailed how the company’s platforms are used to recruit, buy and sell what Facebook documents call “domestic servants.”

Last week, using search terms listed in Facebook’s internal investigation on the subject, CNN located active Instagram accounts purporting to offer domestic workers for sale, similar to the accounts that Facebook researchers had flagged and removed. Facebook removed the accounts and posts after CNN asked about them, and spokesman Andy Stone confirmed that they violated its policies.

“We prohibit human exploitation in very clear terms,” ​​Stone said. “We have been fighting human trafficking for many years on our platform and our goal remains to prevent anyone seeking to exploit others from having a home on our platform.”