This advanced journalistic report was prepared to cover the behind-the-scenes details of court testimony implicating Zuckerberg in child safety issues and related topics in the global technology and regulatory sector.
Article index:
- Historic testimony in the largest social media trial
- Top-down decisions and the targeting of the witness’s personal daughter
- Profits first and ignoring accounts under 13 years old
- FAQs
Historic testimony in the largest social media trial
Arturo Bejar, a former engineering director and safety expert at Meta Platforms, testified before a federal court in Oakland, California on Wednesday that CEO Mark Zuckerberg deliberately established a corporate culture that treated child safety and protection as an entirely secondary requirement compared to the priorities of rapid growth and increased user engagement across Facebook and Instagram.
Bejar made these serious allegations during the second day of his testimony in a landmark federal trial brought by major U.S. states, where California, Colorado, Kentucky, New Jersey, and 25 other states accuse Meta of intentionally designing platform algorithms to attract teenagers and young people and trap them in behavioral addiction, worsening crises of anxiety, depression, and mental health disorders among youth, alongside misleading the public about safety standards.
The U.S. states also accuse Meta of violating federal child privacy law by unlawfully collecting and using personal data of children under 13 while browsing the platforms. Legal experts have described the trial, presided over by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers and scheduled to last six weeks, as the largest judicial and regulatory test of social media’s impact on the mental health of younger generations.
Top-down decisions and the targeting of the witness’s personal daughter
Bejar, who is the primary first witness in the case, emphasized that Zuckerberg personally and directly intervened in the decision-making process, as a strict top-down leadership culture controlled any changes to product designs unless ordered directly by him, stating: “If Mark makes something a top priority, mountains move and change within a few months.”
Bejar debunked statements made by Zuckerberg in 2021 following leaks by employee Frances Haugen, in which Zuckerberg claimed that Meta continuously uses research to improve product safety, saying: “Those statements are untrue in every detail; you simply cannot trust Mark Zuckerberg with children’s safety.”
Bejar recounted a painful personal experience where he helped his teenage daughter create an Instagram account to follow her passion for cars, but she was subjected to abusive comments, repeated verbal harassment, and explicit sexual insults. His daughter turned 16 in 2021 when he sent a direct warning email to Zuckerberg, affirming to the court: “I was watching the suffering and psychological pressure my daughter was subjected to; she got followers, but the cost was severe psychological harm.”
Profits first and ignoring accounts under 13 years old
Bejar revealed to the jury that Meta possessed technical tools capable of monitoring and identifying millions of accounts for users suspected of being under 13, yet management adopted a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and ignored shutting down those accounts to ensure long-term profits and growth for the platform.
He also described Meta’s “take a break” tool, which the company relies on in its defense, as “a tool designed for deliberate failure” because it does not operate automatically as a default option and makes it easy for teenagers to ignore its alerts and continue scrolling for hours.
Jurors also heard recorded testimony from former Meta researcher Elena Davis, who confirmed in an internal research report that Facebook could be redesigned to be less addictive and help users break compulsive habits. Meta faces thousands of similar lawsuits, noting that New Mexico had previously secured a court ruling imposing $942 million in fines and damages while requiring the company to make radical adjustments to its platforms.
FAQs
Question: What are the main charges leveled against Meta in the federal trial?
Answer: 29 U.S. states accuse the company of intentionally designing platforms that cause addiction and depression for teens and collecting data of children under 13.
Question: What did former engineering director Arturo Bejar’s testimony against Zuckerberg include?
Answer: He testified that Zuckerberg imposed a culture that prioritizes profits and growth over children’s safety and that safety decisions are only issued by his personal order.
Question: Why did the witness consider the “take a break” tool on Instagram ineffective?
Answer: Because it was not activated as a default setting and it was easy for teens to bypass alerts and ignore them to continue browsing.
Question: How much were the previous penalties imposed on Meta in New Mexico?
Answer: Meta was imposed $942 million in fines and judicial damages along with an obligation to change platform standards within the state.
