"Meta started automatically putting teens on Instagram into private and more restrictive accounts in September 2024, before extending the protections to Facebook and Messenger last year. But an unredacted court document filed as part of a nationwide social media child safety lawsuit alleges that Meta considered making all teen accounts private in 2019, but reportedly decided against the plan after finding it would "likely smash engagement.""
"In the letter, the senators press Zuckerberg for more information about why Meta "delayed" launching its private-by-default feature for teens, as well as which teams were involved in the decision. The letter also questions Meta about some of the other accusations laid out in the court document, including whether Meta ever "halted" research or studies into its user well-being and its platforms if they produced undesirable outcomes, as suggested in the filing."
""We are deeply concerned by allegations that Meta was not only aware of these risks, but may have delayed product design changes or prevented public disclosure of these findings," the letter states. The senators also want more information about Meta's policies for taking down child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and content about sex trafficking after the unredacted court document revealed testimony from the company's former head of safety and well-being, who claimed Meta would only suspend someone's account after they incurred 17 violations "for prostitution and solicitation.""
A bipartisan group of senators sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg seeking explanations for delays in rolling out private-by-default accounts for users under 18 and for decisions tied to platform safety. Unredacted court documents from a nationwide child safety lawsuit allege Meta considered making all teen accounts private in 2019 but rejected the idea because it would "likely smash engagement." The senators request details on which teams made those decisions, whether research into user well-being was halted when results were unfavorable, and clarification of policies for removing CSAM and trafficking-related content, citing testimony about account suspension thresholds.
Read at The Verge
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