One Facebook researcher asked whether 'the issue was known to Facebook before BBC inquiry and Apple escalation?' The response started with a simple 'yes.' They suggest that Facebook only took limited action to shut down the activity before Apple launched its threats.
Those internal documents reveal that Facebook was aware of the trafficking issue before the BBC report. After that story was published, Apple threatened to boot Facebook from the App Store unless it cracked down on the practice, according to internal Facebook documents obtained by the The Wall Street Journal.
Back in 2019, the BBC reported that human traffickers in the Middle East were using Facebook to arrange the sales of its victims.
