Senate Judiciary Subcommittee calls out Mark Zuckerberg on use of platforms by minors under 13, alleging Meta “censored, blocked, and even required the deletion of research” into child safety to prioritize profit.
Senator Ashley Moody (R-FL), joined by a bipartisan group of colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, is demanding a comprehensive response from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg regarding the safety and prevalence of users under the age of 13 on its platforms, including its virtual reality division.
The move follows an explosive Senate hearing where whistleblowers testified that Meta allegedly suppressed internal research related to child safety risks and the underlying causes of harms to young people.
In a scathing letter sent to Zuckerberg, Senator Moody, a self-described “concerned mother,” and the group highlighted allegations that Meta implemented a “Social Issues Protocol” and installed monitors from its legal department to routinely alter, block, or shut down work on teen safety, limited access to information, and even “required the destruction of data.” The whistleblowers asserted that this willful blindness was driven by “regulatory concerns” and reputational risk, ultimately allowing the company to avoid “actual knowledge” of children using the platform and its toxic effects.
“We heard bombshell testimony from two Meta whistleblowers about the platform censored, blocked and even required the deletion of research into the prevalence and underlying causes of harms to young people on its platforms,” Senator Moody stated. “As a concerned mother myself, it is infuriating to hear allegations that this company put profits over the health and safety of young children. We’re now demanding Meta provide all child safety research gathered.”
The letter particularly focused on Meta’s push of virtual reality (VR) products, like the Quest headsets and its Horizon Worlds social media platform, to children as young as 10 (dubbed ‘Project Salsa’) despite internal experts raising deep concerns about VR being “inherently more dangerous” than traditional social media.
According to the letter, internal researchers who sought data through outside channels uncovered “alarming” reports of rampant abuse within VR environments, including bullying, hate speech, pedophilic acts (virtually simulating child rape), grooming, and children sharing personally identifying information with strangers. The whistleblowers allege these reports were “excised and deleted, and outcomes were altered to paint a more positive impression” of the VR products.
Furthermore, the Senators accuse Meta of misrepresenting the effectiveness of its parental controls to both parents and Congress. Internal research reportedly found that these tools were “often ineffective and unused,” with one survey showing only 2% of parents on Instagram had activated them. The Senators argue that Meta’s effort to “offload responsibility from itself to parents is no substitute for safety by design.”
The bipartisan group—which includes key figures like Subcommittee Chair Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)—is demanding Meta provide all internal research regarding safety risks, the prevalence of minor users, and the platform’s policies for reviewing child exploitation reports and the effectiveness of parental tools.
Senator Moody has a history of fighting to protect children online, having launched investigations into Meta and Instagram as the former Florida Attorney General over practices that sought to addict children to the service. The current Senate inquiry marks a significant escalation in the ongoing scrutiny of the tech giant’s impact on youth.
READ: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Under Scrutiny As Florida Sen. Moody Pushes For Kids Online Safety Act
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