Tallahassee, Florida - Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg has been called to testify before Florida’s Statewide Council on Human Trafficking.

The invitation from Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody came after a statewide investigation revealed that between 2019 and 2022, 146 of the 271 reported instances of social media platform use in human trafficking happened through Meta platforms.

"To put this number in perspective, after Meta platforms, the next-highest social media platform used in human trafficking was Snapchat, and it was utilized 19 times, seven times less than Meta platforms," Moody wrote in her letter.

The 2022 Federal Human Trafficking Report found Facebook was the top platform used to recruit human trafficking victims during that same time period.

"Before launching new products or wasting time preparing for a cage match that will likely never happen, Zuckerberg should be working to make Meta’s existing platforms safer for users and to prevent vulnerable people from being forced into illicit sex work," Moody said in a statement.

"The findings of our statewide survey and other reports make it clear that Meta platforms are the preferred social media applications for human traffickers looking to prey on vulnerable people," she continued. "Zuckerberg needs to immediately turn his attention to this public safety threat and testify to our council about what Meta is doing to prevent its platforms from being used to assist, facilitate or support human trafficking."

Zuckerberg has been asked to respond to Moody's request by September 5.