Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The lawsuit against technology giant Meta\nPlatforms has heated up again. Former Meta Engineering Director Arturo\nBejar revealed shocking facts about the internal culture of the company\nthat owns Facebook and Instagram.<\/p>\n
In his testimony at the federal court in Oakland, California, US,\nBejar said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg deliberately created a work culture\nthat sidelined child safety in pursuit of user growth and\nengagement.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit was filed by a coalition of 29 US states, including\nCalifornia, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey. Meta is accused of\ndesigning its platforms to make young users addicted, triggering mental\ndisorders such as depression and anxiety, and even leading to\nsuicide.<\/p>\n
Meta is also charged with violating federal law by illegally\ncollecting and using the personal data of children under the age of\n13.<\/p>\n
Zuckerberg Holds Sole Control<\/p>\n
Before the panel of judges, Bejar asserted that the top-down culture\nat Meta meant all strategic decisions rested entirely in Zuckerberg\u2019s\nhands. Changes to safety features could only happen if there was a\ndirect instruction from the CEO.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Mark makes something a priority, mountains can move within\nmonths,\u201d Bejar said in court, as quoted by Reuters on Thursday\n(20\/8\/2026).<\/p>\n
He strongly refuted Zuckerberg\u2019s claim in 2021 that Meta always used\nresearch to improve platform safety. According to Bejar, that claim did\nnot match the facts on the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is all false. You absolutely cannot entrust the safety of\nchildren to Mark Zuckerberg,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n
Safety Features Are Mere Formality<\/p>\n
Bejar revealed that the take-a-break reminder feature that Meta often\ntouted as proof of its concern for users was actually \u201cdesigned to\nfail\u201d. This is because the feature was not activated by default and was\nvery easy for child users to ignore.<\/p>\n
Meta was also said to have allowed a \u201cdon\u2019t ask, don\u2019t tell\u201d policy\neven though it had the technology to detect millions of underage user\naccounts. This step was taken to maintain the flow of potential\nlong-term profits for the company.<\/p>\n
Bejar\u2019s testimony was reinforced by a recording of Meta researcher\nElena Davis, who confirmed that the company actually had the ability to\ndesign Facebook so that it would not trigger addiction, but chose not to\nimplement it.<\/p>\n
To date, Meta is shadowed by thousands of similar lawsuits related to\nthe harmful impact of its platforms on children. In a previous case\nfiled by the State of New Mexico, Meta was even ordered to pay fines and\ndamages of up to US$942 million, or Rp16.7 trillion.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/former-employee-reveals-unexpected-facts-about-facebook-1787223182", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }