Meta has sparked controversy by utilizing a female student’s back-to-school photo to market one of its social media platforms to a 37-year-old man, a decision deemed “outrageous” and “upsetting.”

The man is pitted against Mark Zuckerberg’s Elon Musk’s X, receiving a post urging him to “get the thread.”

Meta employed the child’s images after they were shared on Instagram by their parents as school started back up. The parents were unaware that the meta setting allowed for this usage. One mother noted her account was private, yet the posts were automatically visible in public threads. Another mother mentioned that she posted the photo on her public Instagram account. Stranger interactions highlighted their child’s posts as “suggested threads.”

The recipient conveyed to the Guardian that the post felt “deliberately provocative and ultimately exploitative of the children and families involved.”

The father of the13-year-old girl featured in the post expressed that it was “absolutely outrageous.” All images portrayed female students in short skirts, showcasing bare legs or stockings.

“Discovering her image used by such a large company in a context that felt sexualized for product promotion made me feel quite sick,” he stated.

Meta, a massive company valued at £1.5TN, based in Menlo Park, California, defended its actions, stating the images did not breach their policies. They encouraged users to explore the thread by highlighting public posts that adhere to community standards and recommended guidelines. Although their system does not recommend threads shared by teenagers, these posts were generated from adult accounts that permitted public viewing.

The man who received the post noted that he was solely sent promotional content featuring female students, with no representation of boys in school uniforms, which he felt added a “sexualization aspect.”

One mother of a 15-year-old said the images were used in a promotional post featuring a prominent “thread” button. “It was a photo of my daughter heading to school. I never anticipated Instagram would utilize it for promotion. I absolutely hate it. She’s a minor,” she lamented.

She firmly rejected any agreement, stating, “It wasn’t for the money of the world. [its platform].”

Her Instagram account, typically modest with 267 followers, saw her child’s post attract nearly 7,000 viewers.

Another mother whose 13-year-old child’s photo was similarly featured remarked:

Meta categorized such posts as “recommended tools,” insisting that public posts should serve this function.

A corporate representative stated, “The shared images do not violate our policy and are postings from schools published by parents. There are systems in place to prevent teenagers from recommending shared threads.”

The 37-year-old London Instagram user who received the post requested to remain anonymous.

He noted he had not liked or posted similar images prior to receiving photos of the schoolgirl.

“To me, this feels intentionally provocative, introducing trendy and popular content, ultimately exploiting the children and families involved and jeopardizing online safety.”

“We advocate for children’s rights online,” said Beeban Kidron, a crossbench peer and advocate.

“Meta prioritizes corporate growth over children’s rights to privacy, which is the only reason we can fathom for sending a photograph of a female student to a 37-year-old man.”

She urged the Regulator of Communications to consider implementing measures this summer to prevent unidentified adults from contacting children, stating that “companies should not have the right to feed sensitive content to children.”

Ofcom’s illegal harm initiatives aim to combat online grooming, emphasizing that “Your child’s profile, location, and connections should not be visible to others.”

Meta’s system suggests that if a thread profile is public, posts from an adult profile could be recommended on Facebook or Instagram, allowing others to “discover, follow, and interact with you.” Users can turn this off or switch a thread profile to private.