Mark Zuckerberg and his minions at Meta had a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy when child safety issues arose and preferred to turn a blind eye to protect profits, according to scorching testimony from a former employee on the second day of the historic trial Wednesday.
Arturo Béjar, a former Meta safety researcher who has become one of its biggest critics, told jurors in California federal court that Zuckerberg did little to address the harmful effects of Facebook and Instagram despite having near-unchecked power as the company’s CEO.
“You just cannot trust Mark Zuckerberg with kids,” Béjar said on the witness stand.
He was the first witness called by the coalition of 29 state attorneys general who have accused Meta of causing a teen mental health crisis through addictive app design that fueled anxiety, depression and even suicide – all while illegally harvesting kids’ data without parental consent.
The state AGs are seeking to force Meta to change key features of its apps and to impose major penalties on Meta over its alleged misdeeds. Lawyers for the states said the damages could approach $200 billion, while Meta has alleged the actual number could reach an astronomical $1.4 trillion.
Béjar, who led a safety-focused team at Meta from 2009 to 2015 and later returned as a consultant from 2019 to 2021, accused Zuckerberg of lying about the company’s commitment to protecting kids in public statements.
“I felt that he created a false and misleading impression of Facebook’s commitment to young people,” said Béjar, who estimated that he spoke to Zuckerberg about safety issues at least 100 times during his tenure.
The researcher added that Meta had the capability to detect underage users who were evading safeguards but had a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy to protect its bottom line.
“Where the youngest kids are is where the users are going to be in the future,” Béjar said.
He previously served as a key witness in a separate trial brought by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, where he emotionally described how his then-16-year-old daughter received sick messages from pervs including “unsolicited penis pictures” shortly after she joined Instagram.
Under cross examination by a Meta attorney in the current trial, Béjar admitted that he was caught off guard by the extent of the risks his daughter would face when he allowed her to join Instagram.
“I kept an eye on how distressing it was for her,” Béjar said. “She got a good following, at the price of harm.”
The state AGs’ trial is expected to last roughly six weeks. Zuckerberg and Instagram chief Adam Mosseri are each expected to testify during the proceedings.
Meta has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and accused the state AGs of seeking penalties that go far beyond the scope of their case.
During opening statements on Tuesday, Meta’s lawyer Paul Schmidt argued that Zuckerberg and his allies have worked to improve Facebook and Instagram and taken many steps to protect kids online – including parental oversight tools and time limits for social media use.
With Post wires