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Facebook deals with 54,000 cases of porn -- every month

The content ranges from revenge pornography and "sextortion," according to a report from The Guardian.

Roger Cheng Former Executive Editor / Head of News
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
Expertise Mobile, 5G, Big Tech, Social Media Credentials
  • SABEW Best in Business 2011 Award for Breaking News Coverage, Eddie Award in 2020 for 5G coverage, runner-up National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for culture analysis.
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Roger Cheng
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Facebook has a serious problem with content like revenge porn.

 Jaap Arriens, NurPhoto via Getty Images

Facebook has a massive challenge when it comes to dealing with disturbing content like revenge pornography and "sextortion."

How big? The world's largest social network deals with nearly 54,000 cases of this type of sexual abuse each month, The Guardian reported Monday.

The number underscores the challenge Facebook faces in stamping out pornography -- not a surprise given that more than 1 billion people log on each day. The company still has employees to find these cases, but the sheer amount of content is overwhelming. Facebook told The Guardian that it's been turning to tech such as "image-matching" software to help get the content off the site.

"Keeping people on Facebook safe is the most important thing we do," said Monika Bickert, head of global policy management at Facebook. "We work hard to make Facebook as safe as possible while enabling free speech."

Facebook previously said it was hiring 3,000 people to moderate the site, which comes on top of the 4,500 it employs today.

Updated at 8:05 a.m. PT: To include a response from Facebook.