A child pornography video went viral via Facebook Messenger, reaching thousands of people before Facebook stopped it from spreading, according to reports.



Authorities say the video shows a pornographic image of a young girl and an adult man. The video spread widely after an accompanying message urged Messenger users to distribute a link to it to help catch the perpetrator.

Messenger is used by 1.3 billion people each month, making even a small delay in stopping a video like this from spreading a liability with significant consequences. By the time Facebook intervened, the video had been blindly shared by thousands of people, according to reports. “It’s a nationwide epidemic now,” Sgt. Tami Edwards, of the Orlando Police Department’s Special Victims Unit, told local CBS affiliate WKMG.

“We are aware of this issue,” a Facebook spokesperson told BuzzFeed News on Monday. “We reported the video to the appropriate authorities, and we have used PhotoDNA technology to automatically prevent future uploads and shares. Sharing any kind of child exploitative imagery using Facebook or Messenger is not acceptable — even to express outrage. We are and will continue to be aggressive in preventing and removing such content from our community.”

Tuesday morning, Facebook sent BuzzFeed News a new statement noting that PhotoDNA began blocking the image on Feb. 2.