{
  "id": 2039791,
  "title": "Mark Zuckerberg encouraged growth over child safety, ex-Meta executive testifies at trial",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/mark-zuckerberg-encouraged-growth-over-child-safety-ex-meta-executive",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-19T23:13:28.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Business Times - Companies & Markets",
    "slug": "the-business-times-companies-markets",
    "url": "https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/telcos-media-tech/mark-zuckerberg-encouraged-growth-over-child-safety-ex-meta-executive-testifies-trial"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Meta engineering director Arturo Bejar testified on Aug 19 that CEO Mark Zuckerberg prioritized platform growth and engagement over child safety at Facebook and Instagram. The states of California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, along with 25 others, accuse Meta of designing their platforms to attract young users, which they claim caused anxiety, depression and suicide, as well as misleading consumers about safety. The lawsuit also alleges Meta improperly collected and used personal data of children under 13 without parental consent. Bejar, who worked at Meta from 2009 to 2015 and as an independent contractor from 2019 to 2021, claimed Zuckerberg was deeply involved in decision-making and that the company's culture pushed product changes only if he ordered them. Bejar also disputed Zuckerberg's October 2021 statement that Meta constantly used research to improve products. Bejar testified that he flagged safety concerns to Zuckerberg but said he did not trust him with children's safety. Meta employs hundreds of safety professionals, but Bejar said a tool designed to help users take breaks was \"designed to fail\" and not the default setting. Bejar's testimony is part of a landmark trial testing the impact of social media on young users, expected to last six weeks.",
  "summary": "US states accuse Meta of designing its social media platforms to hook young users",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}