Zuckerberg treated child safety as 'secondary': ex-worker
A former engineering director at Meta Platforms has testified that CEO Mark Zuckerberg fostered a culture that treated child safety as secondary to growth and engagement on Facebook and Instagram.
Arturo Bejar, a former Meta employee, testified in a landmark trial that CEO Mark Zuckerberg prioritized growth and engagement over child safety on Facebook and Instagram. Bejar, who worked at Meta from 2009 to 2015, alleged that Zuckerberg was deeply involved in product decisions and that changes were only made when he ordered them.
Bejar disputed Zuckerberg's 2021 response to claims that the company knew its products were unsafe for children but chose profit over safety. He also criticized Meta's 2021 feature designed to encourage users to take breaks, stating it was intentionally flawed and that the company had technology to verify users under 13 but ignored it.
Experts view the trial as a crucial test of social media's impact on young users, with Meta facing numerous lawsuits over alleged harm to children.
Written by urgent.news from RTE News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 2 other outlets
- Ex-Meta executive says Zuckerberg put growth before child safety koreatimes.co.kr
- Zuckerberg put growth before child safety, ex-Meta exec alleges globalnews.ca
