Common Sense Calls Whistleblower Evidence Against Meta a “Smoking Gun” for Social Media Regulation

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 6, 2023—On Tuesday, a U.S. Senate subcommittee will hear testimony from Arturo Bejar, a former Facebook employee who claims Meta has failed to act on reports of harassment and harm facing children and teens on the platform. Common Sense Media Founder and CEO, James P. Steyer, issued the following statement in response to the hearing and whistleblower Bejar's story that first surfaced in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday:

"Bejar's evidence and testimony will once and for all prove that Meta's own content auditing processes misrepresent the truth and are used as a smoke screen to silence users who experienced terrorism, pornography, or bullying on their platforms.

"According to Bejar's research, one in eight users under the age of 16 said they experienced unwanted sexual advances on the platform over a seven day period. But Meta's own statistics suggested that these disgraceful problems didn't exist. Why? Because acknowledging them and addressing them would eat into Meta's profits.

"Years before the first Meta whistleblower, Frances Haugen, gave her powerful testimony to the Senate in 2021, Common Sense had been raising the flag that, when given the choice, companies like Meta will always choose profit over kids' well being. Congress has more than enough evidence and analysis to do the right thing to protect children and teens and their families online. Congress must not fail to heed the call of the 42 attorneys general that just filed lawsuits against Meta for the role its products have played in the teen mental health crisis. At long last, Congress must pass bipartisan legislation, like the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and COPPA 2.0 so that we can put an end to Meta's deceiving and unjust practices.``

About Common Sense

Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century. Learn more at commonsense.org.

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