Staff Reports
Prominent technology companies, including Meta, were alleged to have intentionally permitted harm to befall children on their platforms, according to impassioned testimony provided by former Facebook employee Arturo Bejar before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Bejar, an Instagram consultant who rejoined the company in 2019 after working at Facebook from 2009 to 2015, asserted that he expressed apprehensions regarding the protection of minors on Meta's platforms but received no response. Meta, according to him, is cognizant of the issue but has elected not to proceed with its resolution.
Ex-Facebook employee Arturo Bejar says executives knew social media harms children and failed to acthttps://t.co/UjXX0NOxak pic.twitter.com/V93Knk5MLf
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) November 8, 2023
Bejar asserted, "They were cognizant of the situation and could have taken preventative measures; however, they elected not to do so; consequently, they lose the ability to safeguard our children; Congress must take action." Additional emphasis was placed on the gravity of the situation when he disclosed that his daughter had been subjected to unwanted sexual advances on Instagram when she was a minor.
Meta employees and others have previously come forward with concerns regarding the risks that Big Tech presents to minors via whistleblowers. In lieu of relying solely on recollections of workplace behavior, Senator Richard Blumenthal commended Bejar for providing the committee with documents that detailed the warnings. Nearly one-third observed discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, race, or religion, as reported by over one-fourth of adolescents aged 13 to 15 on Instagram, according to data compiled by Bejar.
Blumenthal levied charges against Meta, alleging that the company concealed evidence of the aforementioned damages and disregarded suggestions for a more secure platform, even reversing current safeguards. Andy Stone, a spokesman for Meta, exonerated the organization, asserting that it has furnished more than thirty tools to ensure the safety of minors while they are online. However, in an effort to hold social media platforms accountable for preventing injury to adolescents, Blumenthal and Senator Marsha Blackburn are advocating for the Kids Online Safety Act to be passed.
Supporting the demand for action against Big Tech, Senators Josh Hawley and Lindsey Graham also contributed their numbers. Graham vowed to reimburse Hawley for any funds he received from Facebook, Instagram, and other technology companies, whereas he attributed the delay in legislation to advocates. Meta, meanwhile, has been the subject of litigation from a number of states, which allege the corporation placed financial gain ahead of the welfare of minors. Scholars have initiated legal proceedings against large technology corporations, arguing that their platforms detrimentally affect the mental well-being of young people.
Bejar proposed that social media platforms be obligated to implement new regulations that would grant users the ability to report undesirable content and improve their ability to decide what they see. It should not be permissible to antagonize others on the Internet, he insisted, despite his opposition to online censorship.
The extent to which Congress will proactively address the escalating concerns regarding the safety of minors on social media platforms is uncertain.
