Meta buried, “pruned, and manipulated” worrying internal research on the safety of children using its virtual reality products, two whistleblowers told US senators on Tuesday, as the social platform faces a growing backlash over its alleged failure to protect younger users.
Two former Meta employees told a US Senate judiciary sub-committee that the company’s internal research in recent years showed its VR products were causing harm to children, who would regularly encounter sexual solicitation from adults and be exposed to other graphic content and interactions.
However, the two witnesses said the $1.9tn company chose instead to restrict further research rather than act on the findings.