A bunch of senators has written a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking why his firm delayed launching key protections for customers beneath 18. The letter, signed by Brian Schatz (D-HI), Katie Britt (R-AL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), James Lankford (R-OK), and Christopher Coons (D-DE), cites court documents unsealed late last year that exposed claims that Meta might have downplayed its platforms’ hurt in favor of accelerating consumer engagement.
Meta began mechanically putting teens on Instagram into private and extra restrictive accounts in September 2024, earlier than extending the protections to Facebook and Messenger final 12 months. However an unredacted court docket doc filed as a part of a nationwide social media youngster security lawsuit alleges that Meta thought-about making all teen accounts non-public in 2019, however reportedly determined towards the plan after discovering it could “seemingly smash engagement.”
Within the letter, the senators press Zuckerberg for extra details about why Meta “delayed” launching its private-by-default function for teenagers, in addition to which groups have been concerned within the choice. The letter additionally questions Meta about among the different accusations specified by the court docket doc, together with whether or not Meta ever “halted” analysis or research into its consumer well-being and its platforms in the event that they produced undesirable outcomes, as steered within the submitting.
“We’re deeply involved by allegations that Meta was not solely conscious of those dangers, however might have delayed product design adjustments or prevented public disclosure of those findings,” the letter states.
The senators additionally need extra details about Meta’s insurance policies for taking down youngster sexual abuse materials (CSAM) and content material about intercourse trafficking after the unredacted court docket doc revealed testimony from the corporate’s former head of security and well-being, who claimed Meta would solely droop somebody’s account after they incurred 17 violations “for prostitution and solicitation.” The senators are giving Meta till March sixth to reply to their questions.
