After a week of intense litigation, tech giant Meta has agreed to provide crucial user information, including phone numbers, IP addresses, names and physical addresses, linked to Instagram and WhatsApp accounts involved in distributing explicit child pornography.

According to The Witness, this follows a ruling by Judge Mudunwazi Makamu in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg, compelling Meta to hand over the data. In addition, Meta has deleted 12 WhatsApp channels and 58 Instagram accounts found to be sharing sexually explicit content involving minors.

The Digital Law Company (DLC), led by social media law expert Emma Sadleir, spearheaded the urgent legal application to protect South African children from digital exploitation.

Sadleir said multiple channels and accounts had been posting various forms of explicit content.

“Following our urgent High Court application against Meta, we have secured a consent order that sets a critical precedent for online accountability and the enforcement of children’s rights in the digital age,” said Sadleir.

She described the outcome as a landmark moment in the battle to hold tech platforms accountable for the spread of harmful online content.

During the litigation process, Sadleir said it became clear that some of DLC’s demands extended beyond Meta’s current technical capabilities. However, as part of the court-sanctioned consent order, the company has committed to taking three key steps to bolster child protection.

These include establishing a two-year direct hotline between DLC and Meta to expedite the handling of urgent child protection cases, disclosing subscriber information for over 60 offending accounts across both platforms to enable families of victims to pursue justice, and permanently removing all accounts reported by DLC on behalf of victims.

The ruling is seen as a ‘David vs Goliath’ by Sadleir, as the young team fought against ‘an army of senior lawyers’.

“We remain deeply grateful to the survivors, families and schools who trusted us to act on their behalf, and to the broader public for their outcry and support.

“Moreover, we thank Ben Winks, Sanan Mirzoyev, as well as Rupert Candy, John Makate and Julian Govender from Rupert Candy Attorneys. This matter has shown, more clearly than ever, that urgent action is possible when the stakes are high enough and when our institutions are willing to rise to the occasion,” Sadleir said.

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