Meta accused of suppressing child-safety research in Reality Labs

A group of current and former Meta employees told Congress this week that the company suppressed internal research into how children use its virtual reality products and other services, alleging the firm edited, hid or discouraged reporting of evidence about threats to minors. The disclosures, made in documents and oral testimony before a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday, center on Reality Labs, Meta's virtual reality division, and include claims that a researcher was told to delete an interview in which a teen said his younger brother under the age of 10 had been sexually propositioned in a VR app.

Whistleblowers said Meta deployed legal staff to screen and sometimes veto sensitive research after earlier leaks prompted scrutiny, advising researchers to route work through lawyers or to use vaguer language so findings would not be labeled noncompliant or illegal. Former researcher Jason Sattizahn told the committee that managers pressured staff to remove or obscure material and that employees were discouraged from documenting underage use. He said Meta treated underage users as a source of engagement, adding, "Hey, kids drive engagement, and it was making them cash."