HRW says Facebook, TikTok failing to curb content used to recruit children in Colombia

Human Rights Watch said Facebook and TikTok have failed to stop the spread of content produced by armed groups in Colombia to lure children into their ranks. The organization reported that since 2021, armed groups have recruited roughly 1,500 children, nearly half of them from Indigenous communities, with girls making up about 40 percent of child soldiers in those formations. According to an HRW report, armed groups use the social media platforms to share posts that glorify life within their ranks, showcase weapons and explosives, and lure children with false promises of employment. Human Rights Watch Americas Director Juanita Goebertus told a press conference in Bogotá that technology companies must acknowledge that their platforms are being used as tools in child recruitment. Meta and ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, said they removed the content flagged to them by HRW but did not present a comprehensive solution to block such material at its source.