According to a whistleblower, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Inc. has not done enough to protect children following Molly Russell’s death. The whistleblower claimed that the social media company already poses a risk to teenagers and that Zuckerberg had put in place infrastructure to protect against such content.
Arturo Bejar, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, voiced his concern that the company had not learned from Molly’s death and could have provided a safer experience for young users. Bejar’s survey of Instagram users revealed that 8.4% of 13- to 15-year-olds had seen someone harm themselves or threaten to harm themselves within the past week.
Bejar stressed that if the company had taken the right steps after Molly Russell’s death, the number of people encountering self-harm content would have been significantly lower. Russell, who committed suicide after viewing harmful content related to suicide, self-harm, depression, and anxiety on Instagram and Pinterest, sparked the whistleblower’s concerns. Bejar believes that the company could have made Instagram safer for teens but chose not to make necessary changes.
Former Meta employees have also asked the company to set goals for reducing harmful content and creating sustainable incentives to work on these issues. Meanwhile, Béjart has met with British politicians, regulators, and activists, including Ian Russell, Molly’s father.
Bejar has suggested a series of changes for Meta, including making it easier for users to flag unwanted content, surveying users’ experiences regularly, and facilitating the reporting of negative experiences with Meta’s services.
Source: www.theguardian.com
