Shafaq News – Washington

Meta is accused of suppressing research on child safety in virtual reality, four current and former employees told Congress, according to The Washington Post.

Researcher Jason Sattizahn recounted a 2023 interview in Germany where a teenager revealed that his younger brother, under 10, had been sexually propositioned on Meta’s Horizon Worlds. He told the paper that a manager later ordered the recording and notes deleted, excluding the claim from Meta’s internal report.

Documents reviewed by The Washington Post show company lawyers advised researchers to frame “sensitive” studies under attorney-client privilege and avoid terms like “illegal.” Other files warned of under-13 users bypassing restrictions, with new parental controls introduced only after FTC scrutiny.

Meta denied shutting down all child-safety research, telling The Washington Post it has funded youth-safety studies since 2022, and that any deletion of under-13 data was for privacy-law compliance. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee is expected to review the whistleblowers’ claims.

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