Meta Accused of Covering Up Harm to Children from VR Products

Whistleblowers told Congress that Meta, the owner of Facebook, covered up internal research showing children were being groomed, harassed, and assaulted inside its virtual reality platforms. Both whistleblowers described a pattern of suppression, where researchers were monitored by lawyers, reports were edited or destroyed, and safety studies were sidelined in favor of boosting user engagement.

Cayce Savage, who specialized in youth safety, said she was explicitly told not to study what kinds of harm children were experiencing, while Jason Sattizahn, a former Meta researcher, recalled being ordered to erase evidence of children in Germany being solicited for sex acts on Meta's VR platform.

Sattizahn told lawmakers that "it is evident that Meta consistently chooses profit over safety for its users." He described internal studies showing that nearly half of VR users reported harm in just three weeks of use ranging from harassment to sexual assault, with women disproportionately affected. Sattizahn also detailed a "funnel manipulation" put on research via legal surveillance.

"You might have legal actually watching data you collect, and you are told to erase it proactively if they believe it is too sensitive," Sattizahn said. Savage testified that Meta ignored or blocked efforts to investigate the harms children faced in VR, saying "Meta is aware that its VR platform is full of children. Meta purposely turns a blind eye to the solution, despite it being obvious to anyone using their products."

Much of the internal research was based on studies of emotional targeting of teens and failed to protect children in Meta's Horizon Worlds VR platform.

Meta rejects the accusations, saying "The claims at the heart of this hearing are nonsense; they're based on selectively leaked internal documents that were picked specifically to craft a false narrative."

However, lawmakers are signaling they aren't convinced Meta is making a good faith effort at issuing protections. Senator Josh Hawley told the researchers, "It's abundantly clear to me that it is time to allow parents and victims to sue this company. They have got to be able to get into court and to get in front of a jury and hold [Meta] accountable. And that begins with Mark Zuckerberg."

The testimony could add momentum for legislation aimed at regulating virtual reality and child safety in tech.