DUBAI: According to the BBC on Tuesday, Facebook asked the news organization to send it sexualized images of children and then reported it to the police for doing so.
The incident occurred as part of a BBC investigation into whether Facebook is adequately dealing with inappropriate images of minors on its platform.
The BBC reported that “the social network’s [UK] Director of Policy Simon Milner agreed to be interviewed last week, on condition the BBC provided examples of the material that it had reported, but had not been removed by moderators.
“The BBC did so, but was reported to the UK’s National Crime Agency as a consequence.
“When provided with examples of the images, Facebook reported the BBC journalists involved to the police and canceled plans for an interview,” a report published on the BBC website on Tuesday states.
The news organization said it used Facebook’s “report” button to alert the social media giant to more than 100 images hosted on pages advertised to men such as one called “hot xxx schoolgirls” and one with “images of under-16s in highly sexualized poses.”
According to the BBC, Facebook only removed 18 of the images and automated replies stated that the other 82 failed to breach Facebook’s community guidelines.
According to Business Insider on Tuesday, Facebook says it has now removed all the images reported by the BBC and reported itself to the police for hosting such images.
The news site was provided with a statement from the office of UK Director of Policy Simon Milner which read: “We have carefully reviewed the content referred to us and have now removed all items that were illegal or against our standards. This content is no longer on our platform…It is against the law for anyone to distribute images of child exploitation. When the BBC sent us such images we followed our industry’s standard practice and reported them to CEOP (the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center).”
Facebook reports BBC to police over ‘sexualized’ child images
Facebook reports BBC to police over ‘sexualized’ child images
Bondi Beach attack hero says wanted to protect ‘innocent people’
DUBAI: Bondi Beach shooting hero Ahmed Al Ahmed recalled the moment he ran toward one of the attackers and wrenched his shotgun away, saying the only thing he had in mind was to stop the assailant from “killing more innocent people.”
Al-Ahmad’s heroism was widely acclaimed in Australia when he tackled and disarmed gunman Sajid Akram who fired at Jewish people attending a Hanukkah event on December 14, killing 15 people and wounding dozens.
“My target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being’s life and not killing innocent people,” he told CBS News in an interview on Monday.
“I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost.”
In footage viewed by millions of people, Al Ahmed was seen ducking between parked cars as the shooting unfolded, then wresting a gun from one of the assailants.
He was shot several times in the shoulder as a result and underwent several rounds of surgery.
“I jumped in his back, hit him and … hold him with my right hand and start to say a word like, you know, to warn him, ‘Drop your gun, stop doing what you’re doing’,” Al Ahmed said.
“I don’t want to see people killed in front of me, I don’t want to see blood, I don’t want to hear his gun, I don’t want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help,” Al Ahmed told the television network.
“That’s my soul asked me to do that, and everything in my heart, and my brain, everything just worked, you know, to manage and to save the people’s life,” he said.
EXCLUSIVE: Ahmed al Ahmed, the man hailed as a hero for tackling one of the gunmen behind an antisemitic attack on Australia's Bondi Beach earlier this month, is speaking out in the aftermath of the massacre.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 28, 2025
"I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry still for the lost." pic.twitter.com/gFUfJvv7c6
Al Ahmed was at the beach getting a cup of coffee when the shooting occurred.
He is a father of two who emigrated to Australia from Syria in 2007, and works as a fruit seller.
Local media reported that the Australian government has fast-tracked and granted a number of visas for Al Ahmed’s family following his act of bravery.
“Ahmed has shown the courage and values we want in Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.
One of the gunmen, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the attack. An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.
His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen, remains in custody on charges including terrorism and 15 murders, as well as committing a “terrorist act” and planting a bomb with intent to harm.
(with AFP)
