Meta suppressed studies about children's online safety, employees claim
What's the story
Four whistleblowers, including two current and two former employees of Meta, have accused the company of suppressing research related to children's safety. The allegations were reported by The Washington Post. The whistleblowers have submitted documents to Congress that allegedly show a pattern of employees being discouraged from discussing and researching concerns about how children under 13 are using Meta's social virtual reality apps.
Policy shift
Changes in research policies after Frances Haugen's leak
The whistleblowers also claim that Meta changed its policies on researching sensitive topics like children, gender, race, and harassment. This came six weeks after whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked internal documents showing that Instagram could harm teen girls' mental health. The policy changes included two ways to limit the risks of conducting sensitive research: involving lawyers in their research or writing about their findings more vaguely.
Data concerns
Forced to delete interview recording, claims former researcher
Former Meta researcher Jason Sattizahn claimed he was forced to delete an interview recording where a teen said his 10-year-old brother had been sexually propositioned on Meta's VR platform, Horizon Worlds. The whistleblowers allege that the documents they provided to Congress show a pattern of employees being discouraged from discussing and researching their concerns about how children under 13 were using Meta's social virtual reality apps.
Company stance
Meta responds to allegations
Responding to the allegations, Meta said that since 2022, it has approved nearly 180 Reality Labs-related studies on social issues such as youth safety and well-being. The company also highlighted significant product updates like new supervision tools for parents in VR and automatic protections for teens against unwanted contact. "We stand by our research team's excellent work and are dismayed by these mischaracterizations of the team's efforts," a Meta spokesperson told Gizmodo.
AI concerns
AI chatbot allowed 'sensual' conversations with children
Along with the VR product allegations, Meta is also facing criticism over its AI chatbot policies. An internal document from Meta had previously allowed its generative AI chatbots to engage in "sensual" conversations with children. The revelation sparked outrage on Capitol Hill, prompting Senator Josh Hawley to launch an investigation into Meta's AI policies and their potential impact on kids.