Mark Zuckerberg's Meta ‘cannot be trusted to tell the truth' about child safety: whistleblowers

Core Viewpoint - Meta Platforms is facing scrutiny for prioritizing profit from its virtual-reality platform over user safety, particularly concerning children being exposed to inappropriate content [1][3]. Group 1: Whistleblower Testimonies - Former Meta researchers testified that the company was aware of children using its VR products and being exposed to sexually explicit material, yet chose to suppress this information [1][7]. - Researchers reported being instructed not to investigate the harms to children using VR technology, allowing Meta to claim ignorance of the issues [7]. - Instances of children being bullied, sexually assaulted, and solicited for nude photographs were encountered by the whistleblowers during their work [7]. Group 2: Congressional Response - Members of Congress have criticized Meta, with Senator Marsha Blackburn emphasizing the need for the Kids Online Safety Act, which aims to enhance protections for children online [6][8]. - The whistleblower accounts have intensified calls for legislative action to ensure the safety of children using online platforms [6][8]. Group 3: Meta's Defense - A Meta spokesperson claimed that the allegations are based on selectively leaked documents and that there was never a blanket prohibition on conducting research involving young users [8]. - Meta has stated that the examples reported were inconsistent with its policies and have since been removed [4][8].