Two former Meta employees testified before a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday, alleging that Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and its virtual reality (VR) division, prioritized profits over the safety of children using its VR products.
Cayce Savage, a former user experience researcher at Meta, claimed the company shut down internal studies that revealed children were accessing its VR platforms and being exposed to sexually explicit content. Savage told the Senate subcommittee on privacy and technology, “Meta cannot be trusted to tell the truth about the safety or use of its products.”
The hearing came after recent reports revealed an internal Meta policy that allowed its chatbots to engage in romantic or sensual conversations with minors, sparking concern among lawmakers. Senator Marsha Blackburn questioned Jason Sattizahn, another former Meta Reality Labs researcher, about whether it was surprising that Meta permitted such chatbot behavior with children. Sattizahn replied, “No, not at all.”
Meta has stated that the chatbot examples reported were exceptions and violated company policies, and that the content had been removed.
The whistleblower claims, first reported by The Washington Post, also included allegations that researchers were discouraged from investigating harm to children on Meta’s VR platforms to maintain plausible deniability. Savage shared that during her research, she encountered cases of children being bullied, sexually assaulted, and solicited for nude photos.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone responded, saying the accusations stem from “selectively leaked internal documents that were picked specifically to craft a false narrative.” Stone also emphasized that there was never a “blanket prohibition” on research involving young users.
