Armed with fake teen girl profile, US senator blasts Facebook over safety

After following sites on extreme dieting and eating disorders, the feed became a target of sites that promote both self-destructive behaviours. — Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

US Sen. Richard Blumenthal's staff created a fake 13-year-old girl, then watched Facebook sites on eating disorders and extreme dieting follow her around the Internet, Connecticut's senior senator announced during a Thursday hearing in Washington.

That undercover sting became the backdrop for Blumenthal's charges that Facebook has staged a "relentless campaign to recruit and exploit younger users," using deceptive tactics and ignoring online safety issues that even the platform's own researchers have acknowledged.