Former Meta employee testifies that company prioritized growth over child safety in federal trial
In a federal case brought by a coalition of states, former Meta safety engineer Arturo Béjar said the firm’s culture favored user numbers and revenue over protecting teenage users.
Former Meta safety staffer Arturo Béjar testified in a federal trial in Oakland that the company’s internal culture emphasized user growth at the expense of child-safety measures. Béjar, who worked on cyberbullying and wellbeing projects for eight years, said he repeatedly raised concerns with CEO Mark Zuckerberg, but the leadership’s priorities made it “practically impossible to deliver features that addressed the wellbeing and safety issues.”
Béjar’s testimony supports a lawsuit filed by a group of states alleging that Meta violated consumer-protection laws by designing Facebook and Instagram features—such as infinite scrolling, video autoplay and “like” counters—to keep teens engaged and generate advertising revenue. He cited internal studies that documented harmful effects on teenage users and argued that safety-related changes were consistently blocked in favor of revenue-driving policies.
"Based on my experience at Meta, that is not an accurate statement," Béjar said when referencing Zuckerberg’s 2021 public denial that the company prioritized profit over safety.
Meta’s legal team contended that the company is aware of teen-related risks and has taken steps to address them. During cross-examination, Meta attorney Brian Stekloff questioned Béjar about the competence of his colleagues and whether any safety issues had been resolved. Béjar responded that his teams were qualified but that none of the identified risks had been fully solved.
The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, is expected to run about six weeks and could set a precedent for holding social-media firms accountable for platform design choices that affect youth mental health.