Two former researchers from Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, recently testified before a U.S. Senate committee, alleging that the company concealed potential dangers associated with its virtual reality (VR) products for children. Jason Sattizahn, one of the whistleblowers, claimed that Meta ignored evidence of harmful user experiences to protect its interests.
These assertions emerged following a report by the Washington Post, which indicated that company lawyers may have influenced internal research regarding risks. Meta has denied these claims, describing them as “nonsense” and asserting that the allegations are based on selectively leaked documents designed to convey a misleading narrative. The company emphasized that there have been no restrictions on research, noting the approval of nearly 180 studies related to youth safety and well-being in their Reality Labs.
Sattizahn, who worked at Meta from 2018 to 2024, characterized the company’s rebuttal as misleading, suggesting that significant findings were being deliberately overlooked. During the hearing, fellow former researcher Cayce Savage highlighted concerns about the online game platform Roblox, stating that she identified its use by organized groups engaging in predatory behaviors and had raised alarms with Meta regarding its availability on their VR headsets. Savage noted that despite her warnings, Roblox remains accessible in the Meta VR app store, while Roblox has disputed her claims, asserting a strong commitment to user safety.
Meta provides parental supervision tools on its VR platforms, including Quest headsets. However, Republican Senator Ashley Moody expressed frustration over the difficulty of navigating these controls, despite her expertise as a former attorney general involved in legal actions against Meta for harming children online.
The testimonies come amid ongoing scrutiny of Meta’s practices, following earlier allegations from former employee Frances Haugen in 2021 about Instagram’s detrimental impact on teenagers’ mental health.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y8x3md05no?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss