Meta Faces Backlash Over AI Sticker Feature
Meta recently launched its AI sticker feature on applications like Instagram and Messenger. However, users quickly discovered ways to create inappropriate images using the tool and shared their results online. Examples included a child with a gun and a lewd image of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The posts gained widespread attention and led to a barrage of similar user-generated stickers featuring popular characters in unusual or controversial scenarios. While certain blocked words were meant to prevent such content, users found workarounds through typos or creative prompts. Meta claims to have built safeguards for their AI experiences, but criticism came from Tama Leaver, a professor of internet studies, who questioned the effectiveness of these measures.
This is not the first time AI-generated content has faced scrutiny. Lensa, an AI avatar generator app, previously came under fire for sexualizing and racializing user avatars despite rules against adult content. Representatives for Meta, as well as Disney, Nintendo, Sega, and Trudeau, have not yet provided comment on the situation.
