Former Employee Reveals Unexpected Facts About Facebook
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The lawsuit against technology giant Meta Platforms has heated up again. Former Meta Engineering Director Arturo Bejar revealed shocking facts about the internal culture of the company that owns Facebook and Instagram.
In his testimony at the federal court in Oakland, California, US, Bejar said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg deliberately created a work culture that sidelined child safety in pursuit of user growth and engagement.
The lawsuit was filed by a coalition of 29 US states, including California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey. Meta is accused of designing its platforms to make young users addicted, triggering mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, and even leading to suicide.
Meta is also charged with violating federal law by illegally collecting and using the personal data of children under the age of 13.
Zuckerberg Holds Sole Control
Before the panel of judges, Bejar asserted that the top-down culture at Meta meant all strategic decisions rested entirely in Zuckerberg’s hands. Changes to safety features could only happen if there was a direct instruction from the CEO.
“If Mark makes something a priority, mountains can move within months,” Bejar said in court, as quoted by Reuters on Thursday (20/8/2026).
He strongly refuted Zuckerberg’s claim in 2021 that Meta always used research to improve platform safety. According to Bejar, that claim did not match the facts on the ground.
“That is all false. You absolutely cannot entrust the safety of children to Mark Zuckerberg,” he asserted.
Safety Features Are Mere Formality
Bejar revealed that the take-a-break reminder feature that Meta often touted as proof of its concern for users was actually “designed to fail”. This is because the feature was not activated by default and was very easy for child users to ignore.
Meta was also said to have allowed a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy even though it had the technology to detect millions of underage user accounts. This step was taken to maintain the flow of potential long-term profits for the company.
Bejar’s testimony was reinforced by a recording of Meta researcher Elena Davis, who confirmed that the company actually had the ability to design Facebook so that it would not trigger addiction, but chose not to implement it.
To date, Meta is shadowed by thousands of similar lawsuits related to the harmful impact of its platforms on children. In a previous case filed by the State of New Mexico, Meta was even ordered to pay fines and damages of up to US$942 million, or Rp16.7 trillion.