In 2021, former Meta employee Frances Haugen exposed significant concerns regarding the risks posed by the company’s platforms to children, prompting Meta to recognize the necessity for reform. During a recent hearing, Cayce Savage, a former user experience researcher at Meta, declared, “I’m here to tell you today that Meta has changed… for the worse.” Savage, alongside fellow former Meta researcher Jason Sattizahn, testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law on September 9. Their accounts expanded on allegations shared with The Washington Post, which highlighted claims that Meta’s legal team attempted to silence its researchers to suppress findings indicating that its virtual reality (VR) services could harm children.
As legislative efforts to regulate technology continued in the wake of Haugen’s revelations, lawmakers alleged that Meta has merely improved its ability to conceal its issues. The former researchers testified that numerous children under the age of 13 were active on Meta’s VR social platforms, despite official restrictions on their access. They argued that these environments expose children to the same risks as the broader internet, including predatory behavior, but emphasized that the immersive nature of VR could intensify these interactions. According to Savage, “In VR, someone can stand behind your child and whisper in their ear, and your child will feel their presence as though it’s real.” She further explained that VR tracks a user’s real-life movements, meaning that any potential harm experienced in virtual reality reflects real-world actions.
Both Savage and Sattizahn indicated that Meta’s legal team discouraged and even threatened researchers against gathering data that could validate their concerns, worrying that such documentation might create legal liabilities if it revealed a significant number of engaged users. “The research they’re doing is being pruned and manipulated,” Savage asserted.
In response to the allegations reported by The Washington Post, Meta spokesperson Dani Lever claimed that the whistleblowers’ examples were selectively chosen to support a “predetermined and false narrative.” Lever noted that the company has authorized nearly 180 Reality Labs-related studies focusing on social issues, including youth safety. However, Sattizahn countered this claim, calling it a “lie by avoidance” and emphasizing that the core issue is that research is being altered and suppressed.
Haugen’s groundbreaking 2021 disclosures shed light on internal documents showing that Meta was aware of the negative impacts of its products, such as Instagram, on teenagers, including issues related to body image. Instead of reforming its practices to better safeguard children and teens, Savage and Sattizahn stated that Meta opted to halt the creation of such documents. “It was the wrong lesson,” remarked Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) in a press conference preceding the hearing.
Sattizahn described an environment of “legal surveillance” at the company, where lawyers oversaw researchers’ work and restricted the topics, questions, and methods available for data collection. He recounted being threatened with job loss if he did not comply with these directives and noted that Meta’s lawyers frequently instructed him to eliminate or refrain from gathering data regarding emotional and psychological harm. “Legal’s repeated, explicit statements to me, was that we did not want this data because it was too risky for us to have,” he testified, asserting that such information could expose Meta to scrutiny during an external audit.
According to Savage, the presence of young children on Meta’s VR platform was so commonplace that most users she encountered were “audibly under the age of 13.” Both whistleblowers expressed their belief that CEO Mark Zuckerberg must be aware of these concerns. “The only way that he would not be aware is if he had never used his own headset,” Savage stated.
Following Haugen’s disclosures, Congress initiated the most significant effort towards online safety legislation for children in decades. In early 2022, Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Blumenthal introduced the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), designed to hold platforms accountable for protecting young users. However, momentum has stalled; while KOSA passed the Senate with an overwhelming 91-3 vote, it never made it to the House floor. “I could have given the same talking points” about child safety four years ago, Blumenthal lamented. “Nothing has changed.”
Advocates for parental rights, such as Maurine Molak, whose son David tragically died by suicide after facing cyberbullying and addiction to online platforms, made their presence felt during the hearing. Molak expressed uncertainty about her future involvement in advocacy efforts if the bill failed to progress after her recent KOSA advocacy trip. However, she decided to continue her fight following a commitment from Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) to persist in supporting the legislation.
Reflecting on her decision to come forward, Savage admitted she had pondered the potential impact of her testimony, particularly given the limited positive change following Haugen’s revelations. “Meta responded to Frances Haugen’s disclosure in 2021 by cracking down on research internally,” Savage recalled. She noted that researchers within the company faced abrupt censorship, framed as a protective measure against future leaks. “Candidly, I am worried that speaking to you today will put my former colleagues, as well as the field of user research within Meta at risk,” she concluded.
