Every morning, Max Y wakes up, logs into Instagram, and tries to track down sexually explicit content. Then he reports it. This is not his job – Max Y is a video editor – but he is also part of a group of so-called digital vigilantes, appalled by what they see on social media. They are convinced that Meta and other major technology companies are not doing nearly enough to stop the circulation of pornographic content, particularly to younger users. And they are stepping in to fill the gap.
Max Y is an Australian in his 20s but declined to provide his real name. He refers to the posts as “marks” and says the sexually explicit content isn’t hard to find.
