Mark Zuckerberg encouraged growth over child safety, ex-Meta executive testifies at trial
A former engineering director at Meta Platforms testified on Wednesday 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 executive, testified at a trial that the company's 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 the CEO was deeply involved in decision-making and that the company's top-down culture prevented any changes unless ordered by Zuckerberg.
Bejar contradicted Zuckerberg's statement from October 2021, where the CEO claimed that Meta constantly used research to improve its products. Bejar testified that he flagged safety concerns to Zuckerberg but found them baseless, stating, "You just cannot trust Mark Zuckerberg with kids." Bejar's daughter's experience on Instagram illustrated the harmful effects Meta's platforms can have on young users.
Despite Meta employing hundreds of safety-focused professionals, Bejar testified that the company's "don't ask, don't tell" policy allowed it to continue collecting personal data of children under 13 while ignoring potential safety risks. The trial, expected to last six weeks, is a significant legal test of social media's impact on young users, with potential implications for the future of Facebook and Instagram.
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