Zuckerberg prioritized growth over child safety, former Meta executive testifies

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg prioritized user growth and engagement over child safety, former engineering director Arturo Béjar testified Wednesday, according to NBC news. Béjar told an Oakland federal court that

Zuckerberg’s top-down culture meant safety changes happened only when he personally ordered them, directly disputing Zuckerberg’s 2021 claims that Meta acted responsibly on internal safety research.

Béjar alleged Meta possessed technology to flag underage users but avoided acting on it to protect long-term profits. The trial, brought by California, Colorado, Kentucky, New Jersey, and 25 other states, examines Facebook and Instagram’s psychological effects on young users and is expected to last six weeks.