On the same day whistleblower before Congress about the harms of Facebook and Instagram to children in the fall of 2021, Arturo Bejar, then a contractor at the social media giant, sent an alarming email to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the same topic.
In the note, as first reported by , Bejar, who worked as an engineering director at Facebook from 2009 to 2015, outlined a B次元官网网址渃ritical gapB次元官网网址� between how the company approached harm and how the people who use its products B次元官网网址� most notably young people B次元官网网址� experience it.
B次元官网网址淭wo weeks ago my daughter, 16, and an experimenting creator on Instagram, made a post about cars, and someone commented B次元官网网址楪et back to the kitchen.B次元官网网址� It was deeply upsetting to her,B次元官网网址� he wrote. B次元官网网址淎t the same time the comment is far from being policy violating, and our tools of blocking or deleting mean that this person will go to other profiles and continue to spread misogyny. I donB次元官网网址檛 think policy/reporting or having more content review are the solutions.B次元官网网址�
Bejar believes that Meta needs to change how it polices its platforms, with a focus on addressing harassment, unwanted sexual advances and other bad experiences even if these problems donB次元官网网址檛 clearly violate existing policies. For instance, sending vulgar sexual messages to children doesnB次元官网网址檛 necessarily break InstagramB次元官网网址檚 rules, but Bejar said teens should have a way to tell the platform they donB次元官网网址檛 want to receive these types of messages.
Two years later, Bejar is testifying before on Tuesday about social media and the teen mental health crisis, hoping to shed light on how Meta executives, including Zuckerberg, knew about the harms Instagram was causing but chose not to make meaningful changes to address them.
B次元官网网址淚 can safely say that MetaB次元官网网址檚 executives knew the harm that teenagers were experiencing, that there were things that they could do that are very doable and that they chose not to do them,B次元官网网址� Bejar told The Associated Press. This, he said, makes it clear that B次元官网网址渨e canB次元官网网址檛 trust them with our children.B次元官网网址�
Bejar points to user perception surveys that show, for instance, that 13% of Instagram users B次元官网网址� ages 13-15 B次元官网网址� reported having received unwanted sexual advances on the platform within the previous seven days.
In his prepared remarks, Bejar is expected to say he doesnB次元官网网址檛 believe the reforms heB次元官网网址檚 suggesting would significantly affect revenue or profits for Meta and its peers. They are not intended to punish the companies, he said, but to help teenagers.
B次元官网网址淵ou heard the company talk about it B次元官网网址榦h this is really complicated,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Bejar told the AP. B次元官网网址淣o, it isnB次元官网网址檛. Just give the teen a chance to say B次元官网网址榯his content is not for meB次元官网网址� and then use that information to train all of the other systems and get feedback that makes it better.B次元官网网址�
The testimony comes amid a bipartisan push in Congress to adopt regulations aimed at protecting children online.
Meta, in a statement, said B次元官网网址淓very day countless people inside and outside of Meta are working on how to help keep young people safe online. The issues raised here regarding user perception surveys highlight one part of this effort, and surveys like these have led us to create features like and . Working with parents and experts, we have also introduced over to support teens and their families in having safe, positive experiences online. All of this work continues.B次元官网网址�
Regarding unwanted material users see that does not violate InstagramB次元官网网址檚 rules, Meta points to its 2021 B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� that say B次元官网网址減roblematic or low qualityB次元官网网址� content automatically receives reduced distribution on usersB次元官网网址� feeds. This includes clickbait, misinformation thatB次元官网网址檚 been fact-checked and B次元官网网址渂orderlineB次元官网网址� posts, such as a B次元官网网址漰hoto of a person posing in a sexually suggestive manner, speech that includes profanity, borderline hate speech, or gory images.B次元官网网址�
In 2022, Meta also introduced B次元官网网址渒indness remindersB次元官网网址� that tell users to be respectful in their direct messages B次元官网网址� but it only applies to users who are sending message requests to a creator, not a regular user.
BejarB次元官网网址檚 testimony comes just two weeks after for harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis. The lawsuits, filed in state and federal courts, claim that Meta knowingly and deliberately designs features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms.
Bejar said it is B次元官网网址渁bsolutely essentialB次元官网网址� that Congress passes bipartisan legislation B次元官网网址渢o help ensure that there is transparency about these harms and that teens can get helpB次元官网网址� with the support of the right experts.
B次元官网网址淭he most effective way to regulate social media companies is to require them to develop metrics that will allow both the company and outsiders to evaluate and track instances of harm, as experienced by users. This plays to the strengths of what these companies can do, because data for them is everything,B次元官网网址� he wrote in his prepared .
Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press
