Meta has rejected attempts to improve child safety, documents show

Hours before Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was set to testify on Wednesday about children's safety online, lawmakers released internal documents showing that his company had rejected calls to commit more resources to combat the problem.

In 90 pages of internal emails from the fall of 2021, top officials at Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, debated adding dozens of engineers and other employees to focus on the well-being and safety of children. One proposal to Mr Zuckerberg for 45 new staff – just 1 percent of Meta's total workforce – was rejected.

The documents, released in full for the first time, were cited in a lawsuit last year by 33 attorneys general who accused Meta of getting young users hooked on its apps. They contradict statements from company leaders, including the head of global security and the head of Instagram, who testified at congressional hearings on child safety during that period that they prioritized the well-being of their youngest users and would work harder to combat harmful content on the Internet. their platform.

Mr. Zuckerberg, who will testify before Congress for the eighth time on Wednesday, is front and center in defending Meta's lack of investment in child safety amid mounting complaints about toxic and harmful online content, Senator Richard Blumenthal said , Democrat of Connecticut. who released the emails with Senator Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee.

“The hypocrisy is staggering,” Mr. Blumenthal said in an interview. “We have heard time and time again how much they care and are working on it, but the documents show a very different picture.”

Meta has developed more than 30 tools to help protect teens, and it has a “robust” team monitoring youth well-being, Andy Stone, a spokesperson for Meta, said in a statement, adding that “these handpicked documents not the full context of how the business operates or what decisions have been made.”

The emails included Mr. Zuckerberg; the former chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg; and Nick Clegg, the president of global affairs, although they didn't always respond. The emails show senior managers bickering over budgets and staff numbers, while simultaneously acknowledging the regulatory threats associated with their dealings with teenage users.

One incident revealed in the documents was a request made by Mr Clegg in August 2021 for the 45 new staff. It was rejected and he returned to Mr Zuckerberg in November with a scaled-down proposal for 32 new hires. It is unclear what Mr. Zuckerberg has decided.

Mr Clegg wrote that the company was failing to meet targets to prevent bullying, harassment and other harmful activity on Instagram and Facebook, and warned that global regulators could take action.

He said the investment in staff would allow the company to “stand behind our external wellbeing story on our apps.”

Before the release of these documents, Mr. Zuckerberg's plans for the hearing included speaking about the difficulties of parenting in the digital age, according to a copy of his prepared remarks. He also planned to defend Meta by pointing to the dozens of tools the company had rolled out over the past eight years to give parents more control.

Meta has about 40,000 people working on safety and security issues in its apps, according to the prepared testimony, and it has invested more than $20 billion in these efforts since 2016. Nearly a quarter of those investments were spent last year. It is unclear how much of the $20 billion will be spent on child safety.

A large number of questions on Wednesday are expected to focus on how apps verify users' ages, as the company excludes users under the age of 13.

At the hearing, Mr. Zuckerberg plans to suggest that Apple bear responsibility for verifying ages through the App Store, according to his prepared remarks. He also plans to push legislation that would require teens to get their parents' permission before downloading apps.

Mr. Zuckerberg has long positioned Meta — and the Internet broadly — as a place for both good and evil. He has said that his company's job is to take good to the next level while doing his best to limit damage. He also plans to emphasize how the Internet can be a positive place for people, including children, according to his prepared remarks.

“They use our apps to feel more connected, informed and entertained, but also to express themselves, create and explore their interests,” he said in accordance with his prepared remarks. “In general, teens tell us this is a positive part of their lives.”