Mark Zuckerberg · Meta · Facebook · California · The Guardian Technology
Zuckerberg lied about concern for child safety, Meta whistleblower testifies at landmark trial
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Meta has taken a “don’t ask, don’t tell” strategy when it comes to the safety of children on its social media platforms, according to a whistleblower who testified during a landmark trial against the company on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Key facts
- If the company is found liable, damages could be as high as $200bn, an amount equivalent to the company’s 2025 annual revenue
- He added the company did not allow children under the age of 13 to register for accounts on its social networks and that it had disabled more than 1m accounts of those young users
- He estimated that he spoke to the CEO at least 100 times
- He found that 51% of users said “yes” to having had bad or harmful experiences within the previous seven days
Summary
Arturo Béjar, a former Meta safety engineer, told the jury that the company was aware of the harm its products caused children, which included its recommendations pushing content from sexual predators and violent and graphic images. In his testimony, Béjar said his job often included him briefing Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, on product issues. “I felt that he created a false and misleading impression of Facebook’s commitment to young people,” Béjar testified. Béjar added that he sent those reports directly to Zuckerberg because, “in my experience, when Mark makes something a priority, mountains move”.