Ex-Facebook employee says executives knew social media harms children and failed to act

Former Facebook employee Arturo Bejar told senators Tuesday that his Big Tech bosses knew social media was putting children in harm’s way but did not act to stop dangers, including sexual advances and bullying. Mr. Bejar testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he raised concerns about children’s experiences on Meta‘s platforms and was ignored. Some two years after consulting the social media giant, Mr. Bejar said he is confident Meta understands the problem and has continuously decided not to tackle the issue. “They knew, there are things they could do about it, they chose not to do them and we cannot trust them with our children and it’s time for Congress to act,” Mr. Bejar said. “The evidence I believe is overwhelming.” Mr. Bejar said he worked at Facebook from 2009 to 2015 as a senior leader tasked with protecting people, and he returned as a consultant to Instagram in 2019. Along the way, he learned of the harm to children including his own — Mr. Bejar said his daughter experienced unwanted sexual advances on Instagram as a child. After raising concerns, Mr. Bejar said Meta was mum. The former Facebook employee is not the first alumnus of Meta
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