1 week ago
Zuckerberg Faces Scrutiny in Meta Child Safety Trial
Arturo Béjar, a former Meta safety engineer, told a court that children experienced serious problems on Facebook and Instagram.
He said he warned company leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg, about harmful content and effects on teenagers.
Béjar said he emailed Zuckerberg in 2021 but did not receive a response.
He believes Meta cared too much about keeping people online and not enough about safety.
The states say Meta’s design and recommendations could lead children toward harmful content and addictive use.
They also say Meta mishandled data from children under 13.
Meta denies these claims and says it has created safety tools and removed more than one million underage accounts.
A judge will decide whether Meta is responsible and what penalties or changes may be required.
Former Meta safety engineer Arturo Béjar said he warned Mark Zuckerberg about harmful content and teen wellbeing concerns.
Béjar estimated speaking with Zuckerberg at least 100 times and said Zuckerberg did not respond to a 2021 warning email.
U.S. states accuse Meta of designing Facebook and Instagram to encourage addictive use and expose young users to harmful material.
The states also allege Meta collected and used personal data from children under 13 without required parental permission.
The Oakland trial could last six weeks, with damages potentially reaching $200 billion and platform changes also being sought.
- Who
- Arturo Béjar, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Platforms, and attorneys general from 29 U.S. states, including California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey.
- What
- A federal trial examining allegations that Meta’s platforms harmed young users, prioritized engagement over safety, and mishandled children’s data.
- Where
- Federal court in Oakland, California; Meta is based in Menlo Park, California.
- When
- The trial began Tuesday and Béjar testified on Wednesday, August 19; proceedings are expected to last at least six weeks.
- Why
- The states allege that Meta designed Facebook and Instagram to encourage addictive use, promoted harmful content, misled consumers about safety, and collected data from children under 13 without required permission.
States and Béjar’s allegations
Meta’s defense
Child-safety priorities
States and Béjar’s allegations
Béjar said Meta treated child safety as secondary to growth and engagement, while the states argue that Facebook and Instagram were designed to encourage addictive use and could expose children to harmful content.
Meta’s defense
Meta denies deliberately designing its products to harm young users and says it has taken steps and created tools to address social-media-related problems.
Zuckerberg’s response to warnings
States and Béjar’s allegations
Béjar said he raised concerns directly with Zuckerberg, including in a 2021 email, but did not receive a response. He described Zuckerberg as deeply involved in major product decisions.
Meta’s defense
Zuckerberg previously maintained that Meta regularly relied on research to improve its products. The articles do not report a specific response from him to Béjar’s 2021 email.
Under-13 accounts and data
States and Béjar’s allegations
The states allege Meta violated federal law by collecting and using personal data from children under 13 without required parental permission.
Meta’s defense
Meta says children under 13 are not permitted to create accounts and that it has disabled more than one million accounts belonging to users below that age.
Key facts
- Witness
- Arturo Béjar, a former Meta engineering director and safety engineer who later worked as an independent contractor.
- Warning to Zuckerberg
- Béjar said he emailed Mark Zuckerberg in 2021 about harmful content and damage to teenage wellbeing, but received no response.
- States involved
- Twenty-nine U.S. state attorneys general brought the case; California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are among them.
- Alleged harms
- The states say Meta’s platforms contributed to anxiety, depression, suicide risk, addictive use, and exposure to harmful material among young users.
- Children’s data
- The states allege Meta improperly collected and used personal data from children under 13 without required parental permission.
- Potential consequences
- The states may seek up to $200 billion in damages and changes to Facebook and Instagram.
- Decision process
- Jurors are expected to issue a non-binding advisory verdict, after which Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will decide liability, penalties, and required changes.
Quotes
Arturo Bejar
Former Meta engineering director and current independent contractor
“You just cannot trust Mark Zuckerberg with kids.”
wionews.com
“"No. I didn’t hear back from him."”
easterneye.biz
Sources
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