Meta has adopted a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach to child safety on its social media platforms, according to whistleblower Arturo Bejar, who testified in a landmark trial against the company.
Bejar, a former Meta safety engineer, told jurors on Wednesday that the company knew its products could harm children, including through recommendations featuring sexual predators and violent or graphic content.
He said he repeatedly raised concerns with Facebook and Instagram executives, but little was done.
Bejar said his role often involved briefing Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on product issues, estimating that he spoke with him at least 100 times, according to The Guardian.
In a 2021 email, he warned Zuckerberg about frequent reports of harmful content on Facebook after Zuckerberg publicly said the company did not put profit ahead of safety.
“I felt that he created a false and misleading impression of Facebook’s commitment to young people,” Bejar testified.
Bejar was the first witness in the federal trial, brought by 29 US state attorneys general.
They accuse Meta of deliberately designing addictive products that attract and harm young users, as well as collecting data from children under 13 without parental consent in violation of federal and state laws.
The case was filed in 2023, with California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey leading the proceedings.
The eight-member jury is serving in an advisory role, while US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will ultimately decide whether Meta is liable and what remedies, if any, should be imposed.
“I heard from many of you at jury selection that the health and well-being of kids is a shared responsibility,” said Megan O’Neill, a California deputy attorney general. “Meta didn’t do its share.”
Zuckerberg, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri, and other executives and experts are expected to testify. The Oakland, California, trial is expected to last at least six weeks.
Meta denies the allegations. Its attorney, Paul Schmidt, acknowledged that some people struggle with social media but said Meta has “come up with tools to try and address that.”
He also said children under 13 are prohibited from creating accounts and that more than 1 million accounts belonging to underage users have been disabled.
