Former Meta engineer says Instagram took a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ approach on kids under 13

A former Meta engineering director testified at a landmark trial that the company adopted a "don't ask, don't tell" strategy regarding children under 13 on its platforms. Arturo Béjar, who has testified before Congress about child safety on Instagram, stated that Meta prioritized profits over safety, focusing on user engagement and mental well-being detriment.

He said Meta's product design aimed to maximize usage duration, even if it negatively impacted users. Béjar claimed Meta routinely collected data on children under 13 without parental consent, violating federal law. The lawsuit accuses the company of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing addictive features and concealing these harms from the public.