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Meta announced new artificial intelligence tools to detect ads and accounts that may be used to direct users to child sexual abuse material outside Facebook and Instagram. The company said it acted on 33.2 million items of this kind in the first half of 2026, and that its systems detected more than 97% of them before user reports.
Meta announced that the One Step Ahead anti-scam campaign, launched in cooperation with more than 25 government and security agencies and safety organizations, has reached more than 303 million people across 18 markets since May 2026. The campaign links local awareness with account-protection tools on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Meta’s artificial intelligence app Muse has surpassed 3.4 million downloads since its launch on September 8, while topping the app stores in the United States. This coincided with an intensive promotional push from Meta and the announcement of future features for the app, including video conversation and smart-glasses integration.
During Meta Connect 2026, Meta announced virtual reality glasses weighing approximately 100 grams, new smart glasses, and updates to the Muse assistant, with some products launching between October 2026 and spring 2027.
Meta unveiled the Ray-Ban Meta Audio audio glasses and announced the third generation of Ray-Ban Meta with improvements to battery life, the camera, and microphones, while also expanding the Meta Glasses collection to new markets and designs.
Meta announced that it took action against more than 113,000 scam-linked entities and pages between January and June 2026, and removed more than 3.6 million shell pages that could later have been used in scam campaigns. The company says that information sharing with the Singapore Police helped it target networks and infrastructure before they reached victims.
Meta will pay startup MacroCycle for emissions-reduction rights associated with its recycled plastic, providing the company with a revenue source to help build its first commercial plant in the United States. MacroCycle says its PET recycling technology cuts emissions by 80% compared with virgin plastic.
Meta rejected a report by the Instrat Foundation that estimated revenue from fraudulent advertisements on its platforms in Poland, saying its methodology conflates removed advertisements with fraudulent advertisements and relies on limited samples and assumptions. The company said it removed 137,000 fraudulent advertisements between July 2025 and June 2026 and intends to verify all financial-services advertisers targeting Poland.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation believes that Meta’s settlement over minors’ use of Instagram and Facebook could restrict young people’s ability to organize and participate in public life, while age-verification systems increase the risks of privacy violations and exclusion.