Facebook Whistleblower Reveals Company’s ‘Complete Disregard’ for Youth Safety During Senate Testimony as Teen Mental Health Crisis Escalates: Big Tech Lobbyists Are Working TANK Online Safety Legislation Alleges Democrats AND Republicans
A top Big Tech whistleblower is expected to accuse Facebook at a Senate hearing Tuesday of company policies that perpetuate the teen mental health crisis.
Facebook, recently renamed “Meta,” is accused by former compliance officer Arturo Bejar of ignoring information that would protect teens and rolling back security protocols to protect the company’s bottom line.
And it’s a rare issue that unites Republicans and Democrats.
Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., met with Bejar last week and said he presented new evidence supporting the claim that Meta managers “knowingly” turned a blind eye for the ‘horrific harm’ done to young people on the company’s platforms.”
From Bejar’s revelations, the senators said they uncovered information showing that executives were “personally warned” that millions of American teens were immediately opening their apps for eating disorders, drugs and sexual content.
Mark Zuckerberg’s company is accused of ‘profoundly changing the psychological and social reality of a generation of young Americans’ by ‘ensnaring’ them in addictive cycles
Facebook, which recently rebranded as ‘Meta’, is accused by former compliance officer Arturo Bejar of ignoring information that would protect teenagers
“Arturo’s firsthand knowledge and damning evidence prove that Meta has put profits over the safety and well-being of millions of teenagers, with a deadly toll on young people and families,” Blumenthal and Blackburn wrote in a joint statement.
Bejar will appear before a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET.
According to excerpts from Blackburn’s opening statement, first obtained by DailyMail.com, the senator plans to dissect his experiences working at Meta during the panel.
“While I am disturbed by the information you shared regarding Meta’s complete disregard for the safety of young people on her platform, I am unfortunately not surprised in any way,” she will say during Tuesday’s hearing.
“Senator Blumenthal and I have spent the last several years fighting Big Tech lobbyists’ attempts to derail the passage of our Kids Online Safety Act, despite all the evidence that the protections it provides are long overdue,” she continued .
“I’m sure you’ve seen firsthand how Big Tech will fight tooth and nail to prevent Congress from regulating them.”
The Kids Online Safety Act was first introduced in 2022, but has not passed out of committee.
Critics of the legislation say it will harm freedom of expression and privacy protections.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of teens who have considered suicide has increased by 60 percent compared to a decade ago.
And suicide is the second leading cause of death among Americans ages 15 to 19, according to the CDC.
Last month, 41 attorneys general sued Meta for “psychologically manipulative product features” that were negatively impacting the mental health of younger Americans.
The bombshell lawsuit claims that Mark Zuckerberg’s company has “profoundly changed the psychological and social reality of a generation of young Americans” by ensnaring them “in addictive cycles” through targeted algorithms.
GOP Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., met with Bejar last week
The case alleges Meta violates consumer protection statutes and common law through “unfair” and “deceptive” practices. It is seeking a variety of remedies against the social media giant, including stiff civil penalties. Meta has refuted the claims
Thirty-three US states have sued Meta Platforms and its Instagram unit, accusing them of deliberately endangering the mental health of children and teenagers for profit.
The complaint, filed in a federal court in California, alleges that Meta, which also operates Facebook, has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its platforms and contributed to a youth mental health crisis.
The case alleges Meta violates consumer protection statutes and common law through “unfair” and “deceptive” practices. It is seeking a variety of remedies against the social media giant, including stiff civil penalties.
Meta has refuted the claims, saying it is “disappointed” that attorneys general have resorted to legal action “instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps that teenagers use.’