A landmark federal trial has exposed major contradictions between Meta's public child safety promises and internal engineering warnings.
Former Meta safety engineer Arturo Béjar recently delivered sworn testimony in a federal trial in Oakland, California, alleging that chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg misled the public regarding minor safety protections.
The federal lawsuit, brought by 29 state attorneys general, accuses Meta of deliberately designing addictive platform features that trap young users and expose them to predatory content.
Béjar testified that Meta adopted a "don't ask, don't tell" approach to child safety while internal research demonstrated widespread harm among teenagers.
Whistleblower testimony reveals that Meta executives repeatedly bypassed internal safety research to protect user engagement and advertising revenue.
During his testimony, Béjar stated that he briefed Zuckerberg on product vulnerabilities and safety concerns at least 100 times. In a 2021 email sent directly to Zuckerberg, Béjar warned of persistent reports of harmful content and teenage psychological distress on Instagram and Facebook.
Béjar noted that his warning followed public statements from Zuckerberg claiming the company does not prioritize profit over safety, creating what Béjar called a false impression of Meta's commitment to young people.
Zuckerberg never responded to the email warning. Béjar explained that when leadership...
The Essential Services Commission has cancelled the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) accreditation of two businesses for allegedly providing false information about their energy efficiency projects...