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🇬🇧 United Kingdom /Crime & Justice

Meta settlement insufficient to stop teen harms, says key witness

From The Guardian · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • A key witness in the US government's trial against Meta, ex-employee Arturo Béjar, believes a multibillion-dollar settlement does not adequately address the harms Meta's platforms cause to young users.
  • The settlement requires Meta to implement significant platform changes, including limiting teen screen time and defaulting to non-algorithmic feeds and enhanced parental controls.
  • Béjar criticized the settlement for lacking independent oversight and failing to address the core issue of addictive algorithmic design, comparing it to a settlement that doesn't make cigarettes safer.

Arturo Béjar, a former Facebook employee and the star witness in the US government's trial against Meta, has voiced strong criticism of a multibillion-dollar settlement reached between the social media giant and dozens of states.

The limitations that are in the agreement are the equivalent of saying: ‘Well you can smoke as many cigarettes as you can in two hours a day.’

— Arturo BéjarDescribing the settlement's limitations on Meta's platforms.

Béjar, who testified that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg lied about child safety commitments, believes the settlement's terms are insufficient to protect young users from the platform's inherent harms. He likened the limitations to allowing someone to smoke for two hours a day, arguing it doesn't make the activity any safer. His testimony was crucial to the government's case, which alleged Meta designed addictive products contributing to mental health issues like disordered eating, depression, and suicide among teenagers.

It doesn’t make the cigarettes any safer.

— Arturo BéjarElaborating on the ineffectiveness of the settlement's terms.

The settlement mandates major changes for Meta, including stricter limits on teen screen time on apps like Instagram and Facebook. It also introduces default settings for teens to view non-algorithmic feeds, enhanced parental controls, and options to disable features like beauty filters and likes by default. A "night mode" and "school mode" will also restrict usage during specific times.

This is not an all clear to say that the product is safe.

— Arturo BéjarExpressing his view on the settlement's impact on platform safety.

Despite state attorneys general hailing the agreement as a victory and Meta urging other platforms to adopt similar policies, Béjar remains unconvinced. He argues the settlement lacks independent oversight and fails to address the fundamental issue of algorithmic design that makes Facebook and Instagram addictive. Béjar had hoped for more robust measures, including independent auditing and quantifiable obligations to reduce harm, stating that "the product continues to be harmful after the settlement."

As with tobacco and opioids, the product continues to be harmful after the settlement. The work needs to continue in order to make sure that it’s safe enough for young people.

— Arturo BéjarComparing Meta's situation to other harmful products and emphasizing the need for ongoing efforts.
About this summary

Originally published by The Guardian in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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