Meta’s Child Safety Controversy: Former Employee Testifies

Mark Zuckerberg and his team at Meta were accused of having a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach when it came to child safety issues, focusing more on profit than protecting young users. This testimony came from Arturo Béjar, a former Meta safety researcher, during a trial in California federal court.

Béjar, who has been critical of Meta, asserted that Zuckerberg, in his position as CEO, largely ignored the detrimental effects of platforms like Facebook and Instagram on children and teenagers. “You just cannot trust Mark Zuckerberg with kids,” he stated while under oath.

His testimony was pivotal; he was the first witness called by a group of 29 state attorneys general who have accused Meta of contributing to a mental health crisis among teens through addictive app designs that reportedly lead to anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts—all while allegedly collecting data from minors without parental approval.

The attorneys general are pushing to compel changes to Meta’s apps and impose significant penalties, estimating potential damages could near $200 billion, although Meta contends it could be as high as $1.4 trillion.

Béjar, who managed a safety team at Meta from 2009 to 2015 and later consulted for the company from 2019 to 2021, claimed that Zuckerberg misrepresented the company’s dedication to child safety in public statements. “I felt that he created a false and misleading impression of Facebook’s commitment to young people,” Béjar noted, mentioning that he discussed safety issues with Zuckerberg upwards of 100 times during his tenure.

He continued by pointing out Meta’s ability to identify underage users who bypassed safety measures but said there was a deliberate choice to ignore this issue to safeguard the company’s profits. “Where the youngest kids are is where the users are going to be in the future,” Béjar remarked.

Previously, in a different case brought forward by New Mexico’s Attorney General, Béjar recounted how his then-16-year-old daughter received disturbing messages, including unsolicited explicit images, shortly after starting on Instagram.

During cross-examination, Béjar admitted he was taken aback by the potential dangers his daughter encountered after she joined Instagram. “I kept an eye on how distressing it was for her,” he reflected. “She got a good following, at the price of harm.”

The trial is projected to last about six weeks, with both Zuckerberg and Instagram president Adam Mosseri expected to testify. Meta has continually denied any wrongdoing and criticized the state attorney general’s attempts to impose overly harsh penalties.

In the opening statements, Meta’s lawyer Paul Schmidt argued that Zuckerberg and his team have made efforts to enhance safety on Facebook and Instagram, citing the introduction of parental oversight tools and time usage limits for social media as evidence of their commitment.