Meta has launched an investigation into reports that Instagram is promoting child sexual abuse material through its algorithm. Facebook’s parent company set up a taskforce to investigate the claims after the Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO) said it found “large-scale communities” sharing paedophilia content on the platform. The SIO said it discovered the child sexual abuse material (CSAM) following a tip from the Wall Street Journal, whose report on Wednesday detailed how Instagram’s recommendation algorithm helped connect a “vast pedophile network” of sellers and buyers of illegal material. Instagram’s ‘suggested for you’ feature also linked users to off-platform content sites, according to the report, with the SIO describing the site as “currently the most important platform” for these networks. “Instagram has emerged as the primary platform for such networks, providing features that facilitate connections between buyers and sellers,” Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center wrote in a blog post. “Instagram’s popularity and user-friendly interface make it a preferred option for these activities.” Instagram users were able to find child abuse content through explicit hashtags like #pedowhore, which have since been blocked by Instagram. “Child exploitation is a horrific crime,” a Meta spokesperson said. “We’re continuously investigating ways to actively defend against this behaviour, and we set up an internal task force to investigate these claims and immediately address them.” Meta said that it had already destroyed 27 paedophile networks over the past two years on Instagram, as well as removed 490,000 accounts violating child safety policies in January alone. Other social media platforms hosting this type of content were also identified by the SIO, though to a much lesser extent. The SIO called for an industry-wide initiative to limit production, discovery and distribution of CSAM, while also urging companies to devote more resources to proactively identifying and stopping abuse. “Given the multi-platform nature of the problem, addressing it will require better information sharing about production networks, countermeasures, and methods for identifying buyers,” the organisation said. “SIO hopes that this research aids industry and non-profits in their efforts to remove child sexual abuse material from the internet.” Read More Instagram plans ChatGPT-style AI chatbot with multiple personalities Mark Zuckerberg reveals new VR headset ahead of Apple ‘Robot taxi’ with ‘ghost driver’ interacts with pedestrians in new experiment Earth hit directly by brightest explosion ever seen, scientists say

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Are you questioning your relationship with alcohol? Or perhaps you're concerned about someone in your life? Dr. Dave Nichols - an NHS GP - shared six signs that you may be a "borderline alcoholic" to help you know if it's time to stop. Dr. Nichols spoke to The Sun about what makes someone "dangerously close to the line" of drinking too much. "A lot of people know that they sometimes drink too much, but many don't know where the line is when it comes to problematic alcohol consumption," Dr. Nichols explained. "It describes a pattern of harmful drinking where you may have a drink, or several drinks, every day or regularly binge drink." To help people gain a better understanding of their drinking habits, he shared six signs to look out for: drinking alcohol every day without realising it; binge drinking often; only socialising if alcohol is involved; drinking frequently during the day; finding it irritating when others are not drinking; and consuming more than the recommended government guidelines. The NHS recommends drinking no more than 14 units spread across three days or more. Which equates to roughly six medium (175ml) glasses of wine, or six pints of 4 per cent beer. Dr Nichols warns that borderline alcoholics are at risk of falling into dependence: "While you may not yet have developed a physical dependence to this pattern of drinking, you are at high risk of developing alcohol dependence. "Borderline alcoholics might experience symptoms such as abdominal pain, stress, anxiety, bad skin, trouble sleeping, irritability and higher blood pressure." If you're looking to cut back on your alcohol consumption, events such as Dry January are a great way to kickstart habits. Dr Nichols also suggested socialising in sober settings, such as exercise classes, dog walks, or coffee shops. If you are worried about your alcohol consumption find a list of NHS resources here. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

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