U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal have taken action following a report that revealed digital advertising platforms placed ads on a website known for hosting child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The senators sent letters to major AdTech vendors, including Google and Amazon, as well as ad verification firms DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science. They also addressed industry standards bodies Media Rating Council and Trustworthy Accountability Group.
The report, which was shared with the senators before its public release, indicates that Amazon’s technology facilitated the placement of advertisements on imgbb.com. This website has been associated with CSAM since at least 2021, according to transparency reports from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
In their letter to Amazon, Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal stated: “We write to express our profound concern that Amazon’s technology has been used to monetize websites that have been known to host child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Recent research indicates that Amazon has facilitated the placement of advertising on imgbb.com.”
The letter further highlighted the violation of federal law by stating: “Amazon’s actions here—or in best case, inaction—are problematic for several reasons. First, the instances of advertisements being served on a website known to host illegal CSAM via Amazon’s advertising technologies violates Amazon’s own policies.”
Moreover, the senators emphasized the urgency for corrective measures: “Many advertisers reportedly cannot readily access page URL-level reports that would allow them to identify which pages their ads have appeared on… It is imperative that your company take immediate and comprehensive action to address this issue and ensure that you are not funding these heinous crimes against children.”
Full letters were sent not only to Amazon but also Google and other related organizations.
