Meta settlement insufficient for teen safety, says key witness

A settlement has been reached between Meta Platforms and a coalition of U.S. states concerning allegations that the social media company designed addictive products that harmed young users. However, a key whistleblower, former Meta safety engineer Arturo Béjar, stated that the agreement does not go far enough to protect teenagers.

Béjar, who testified that Meta knowingly underreported teen harms and pushed users toward content that made them feel bad, described the settlement as potentially codifying "safety theater" without making platforms like Instagram any safer. He argued that the core algorithmic designs contributing to addiction remain unchanged.

The settlement requires Meta to pay states up to $18 billion over the next decade and implement measures such as hiding likes and reaction counts, and limiting the time teenagers spend on its platforms. These remedies include features Meta had previously considered and rejected as inconsequential to user well-being and business.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta declared the settlement would "make social media less dangerous for our kids" and institutes "real and enforceable change, real transparency, and real protections." Meta stated it is "building on our longstanding efforts to empower parents and support teens."

Internal Meta research has previously flagged algorithms' tendency to recommend harmful content to teens and the intentional design of features to keep users scrolling longer. Béjar's work concluded that users had bad experiences on Meta's platforms at rates greater than the company's official estimates. The settlement's remedies focus more on parental controls and time limits rather than addressing the underlying algorithmic issues.