Meta whistleblower claims company ignores harm to kids

Meta whistleblower overview: 

• Who: Arturo Bejar, an ex-Facebook engineering director and consultant, testified before a Senate subcommittee earlier this week against Meta and its top executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg. 
• Why: Bejar claims Facebook and its executives ignored warning signs that platforms like Instagram were harmful to the mental health of teens, while allegedly presenting metrics that downplayed the concerns. 
• Where: Bejar made his testimony in front of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee. 

A whistleblower told a Senate subcommittee earlier this week that Meta and its top executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerburg, ignored warning signs that their platforms were harmful to the mental health of teens. 

Arturo Bejar, a former Facebook engineering director and consultant, told the subcommittee that executives for years looked the other way from evidence that platforms such as Instagram were harmful to teens, CNN reports. 

Bejar reportedly claims Meta went a step further by allegedly working to publicly present metrics that were carefully crafted to downplay the mental health concerns. 

The whistleblower testimony was only the latest to be made against Meta, which has seen other former insiders speak out against the company over claims it ignores alleged problems with its policies, according to CNN. 

Meta whistleblower spoke up after daughter received unwanted sexual advances on Instagram

Before choosing to testify, Bejar reportedly tried to appeal his concerns to Zuckerberg and other Meta executives in 2021, telling them at that time that research conducted by his teams showed the company’s platforms could harm teens and other users. 

The Wall Street Journal presented many of Bejar’s claims against Meta in a public report last week that revealed the former Facebook worker was initially inspired to look into the issue after unwanted sexual advances were made to his 14-year-old daughter on Instagram, CNN reports. 

Meta, in response to the criticisms, has reportedly unveiled around 30 new parental controls that allow a parent or guardian to control who their children can contact and how much time they are able to spend on Instagram or Facebook. 

The testimony comes just more than two years after another former Meta employee, Frances Haugen, became a whistleblower against the company and testified that Instagram was aware its platform was allegedly harming children, according to CNN. 

The attorneys general from 42 states filed lawsuits against Meta last month over claims its Instagram platform targets children and causes mental health issues for young users.

Are you concerned Instagram or Facebook is harming your child’s mental health? Let us know in the comments.

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