Meta Faces Trial Over Social Media Addiction Allegations

Arturo Béjar, a former engineer at Meta turned whistleblower, has provided significant testimony in a child safety trial against the social media giant. The trial, taking place in Oakland, California, focuses on claims that Meta ignored user safety in favor of increasing user numbers. Béjar claims that only CEO Mark Zuckerberg had the power to change this culture but chose not to.

Béjar is a crucial witness for several states, including California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey, which have accused Meta of violating consumer and child data protection laws. These states allege that Meta misled the public about the safety risks of its platforms and designed Facebook and Instagram to be addictive for younger users using features like infinite scrolling and the ‘like’ button.

Meta has denied these allegations, with attorney Paul Schmidt stating that the company is aware of the risks and has taken steps to address them without misleading the public. It remains uncertain if Zuckerberg will be called to testify as the trial continues.

Béjar, who worked on safety issues at Meta for eight years and served as a consultant from 2019 to 2021, emphasized that Meta consistently prioritized user engagement and revenue over safety. He testified that internal studies highlighted the risks to teens on Facebook and Instagram, but efforts to address these through feature changes struggled against priorities favoring company growth.

Béjar’s insights gained more attention after similar claims from whistleblower Frances Haugen. Béjar specifically criticized Zuckerberg’s public statement in 2021 that Meta does not prioritize profits over safety, calling it inaccurate based on his experience.

During cross-examination, Meta attorney Brian Stekloff questioned Béjar on the effectiveness of safety features at Meta and the expertise of his colleagues. Béjar acknowledged their qualifications but stated that no safety risks had truly been resolved. He described features like autoplay videos, ‘like’ counters, and infinite scroll as hazardous for teenagers. Safety measures such as Instagram’s ‘quiet mode’ are seen as insufficient because they are not default settings.

This lawsuit is one of many claiming that social media platforms contribute to mental health issues among youth. The outcome of this trial could impact how platforms like Meta address these concerns moving forward. The hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California is expected to continue for six more weeks.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, founded by Mark Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan, financially supports NPR.