Mark Zuckerberg Lied to Congress. We Can't Trust His Testimony
7 days ago
- #Meta
- #Congressional Testimony
- #Teen Safety
- Mark Zuckerberg's testimony to Congress in 2024 was contradicted by unsealed documents, revealing lies about Meta's commitment to teen safety.
- Meta's teen safety measures, like Teen Accounts, were found ineffective in protecting minors, despite public promises.
- Zuckerberg denied responsibility for compensating victims of social media harms, but expert reports show Meta's platforms were not designed to be safe for kids.
- Internal research by Meta linked Instagram use to worsened mental health in teens, contradicting Zuckerberg's claims about the lack of scientific evidence.
- Meta allowed sex trafficking on its platform with a lenient 17-strike policy before account suspension.
- Despite claims of removing under-13 users, Meta targeted kids as young as 6 in its growth strategies.
- Meta's internal policies included deleting research on negative impacts and avoiding parental notifications to maintain product appeal to teens.
- Instagram's safety features failed to protect teens, with privacy defaults only introduced in 2024, years after identifying risks.
- A Meta deactivation study found reduced anxiety and depression when users stopped using Facebook and Instagram, but results were not published.
- Messenger Kids had flaws allowing unauthorized users into children's chats, contrary to Meta's safety claims.
- Internal emails revealed Meta's focus on the financial value of teen users rather than their well-being.
- Meta's automated systems for detecting harmful content were found to be less effective than claimed, with internal estimates of accuracy below 5%.