The revelations have intensified bi-partisan scrutiny of the Mark Zuckerberg-owned, tech giant's safety protocols.

A Meta document on its AI chatbot policies included some alarming examples of permitted behavior. Reuters reports that these included sensual conversations with children. Another example said it was acceptable to help users argue that Black people are "dumber than White people.

Meta says its guidelines about children were "erroneous," but hasn't commented on the one that allows statements like "Black people are dumber than White people."