"Meta has chosen to ignore the problems they created and bury evidence of users' negative experiences," said Jason Sattizahn. The hearing comes a day after the Washington Post reported the whistleblowers' allegations that Meta lawyers intervened to shape internal research that could have flagged risks. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, denies the allegations and in a statement referred to the "claims at the heart" of the hearing as "nonsense.""
"The claims, the company said, are "based on selectively leaked internal documents that were picked specifically to craft a false narrative." There were also no bans or limits on carrying out research, a spokesperson added saying the company has in recent years approved "nearly 180 Reality Labs-related studies on issues including youth safety and well-being." Mr Sattizahn, who worked at the company from 2018 to 2024, responded in testimony to the committee by calling Meta's response to the Washington Post report a "lie by avoidance.""
Two former Meta safety researchers told a US Senate committee that Meta covered up potential harms to children from its virtual reality products. The researchers alleged the company demanded deletion of evidence indicating sexual abuse risk and discouraged research that could reveal harm to youth. Meta denied the allegations, calling the claims selectively leaked and "nonsense," and highlighted approval of nearly 180 Reality Labs-related studies on youth safety and well-being. One former researcher labeled Meta's response a "lie by avoidance," asserting that internal research was being pruned and manipulated.
Read at www.bbc.com
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