Ex-Instagram consultant Arturo Béjar, set to testify in Congress on November 7, says Meta did not fully act on its Well-Being Team's findings to protect teens
When a Meta security expert told Mark Zuckerberg that Instagram's approach to protecting teens wasn't working, the CEO didn't reply.
Wall Street JournalJeff Horwitz
Context & Ripple Effects
This report centers on whether Meta’s internal well-being research translated into product safeguards. The subsequent Senate testimony alleging executives disregarded warnings and contemporaneous reporting on internal debates over growth and youth protection made Béjar’s account a focal point for congressional scrutiny.
The issue did not end with the hearing: later court filings described executives resisting stronger guardrails, and a [[a:1164633|New Mexico child-safety trial revisited leadership’s treatment of the company’s teen-impact findings]]. That continuity makes the account relevant to how internal safety evidence is governed and disclosed.
First-order effects
Meta faces more immediate questioning from Congress over how it handled Well-Being Team findings and whether its teen-protection measures matched internal evidence.
Béjar’s testimony elevates internal metrics, staff recommendations, and executive responses from internal product-management matters to potential evidence in public oversight.
Second-order effects
The allegations increase pressure on Meta to substantiate teen-safety claims with decision records and measurable safeguards, rather than relying on high-level assurances.
Other social platforms face a clearer incentive to examine how youth-risk research reaches senior leadership, since later filings on rejected guardrails and staffing pleas broadened attention from one witness’s account to organizational processes.
Third-order effects
If policymakers and courts continue to treat internal well-being research as evidence of what platforms knew, youth-safety governance may increasingly turn on documentation, escalation paths, and accountability for acting on findings.
The broader shift is toward treating teen safety as a product-governance and disclosure issue, not solely a moderation-policy question; the eventual regulatory standard remains unsettled.
The trend: Platform youth-safety disputes are increasingly testing whether companies’ internal research produces enforceable product changes and executive accountability.
@WSJ - One in eight users under the age of 16 said they experienced unwanted sexual advances on the platform over the previous seven days. - More than a fifth felt worse about themselves after viewing others' posts https://www.wsj.com/...
Wow. In an incredible report from the @WSJ, a new Meta whistleblower has come forward. Arturo Bejar knew Instagram was toxic for teens, rife with unwanted sexual advances. And went to Zuckerberg. But when Bejar told the CEO he never heard back. https://www.wsj.com/...
“I asked her why boys keep doing that,” Bejar wrote to Zuckerberg and his top lieutenants. “She said if the only thing that happens is they get blocked, why wouldn't they?” https://www.wsj.com/...
@WSJ Incredible. Bejar sent his concerned message to Meta leadership the same day Frances Haugen testified. Zuckerberg ignored. FB started a campaign of “narrative excellence” to stop people from researching bad stuff. Then they laid off the team doing that research [image]
Bejar testifies Tue so will share story with these Senators, “'Pls don't talk about my underage !;!$,' Bejar's daughter shot back before reporting his comment to Instagram. A few days later, the platform got back to her: The insult didn't violate its community guidelines.” 2/3 [i…
“When a Meta security expert told Mark Zuckerberg that Instagram's approach to protecting teens wasn't working, the CEO didn't reply. Now the former insider is set to tell Congress about the predatory behavior.” -@JeffHorwitz https://www.wsj.com/...
This does not surprise me whatsoever and sounds like the company knew too: “Instagram acted so rarely on reports of [unwanted sexual] behavior that the girls no longer bothered reporting them.” [image]
This would appear to undercut the core arguments folks like Nick Clegg have made about three company's success in dealing with harmful material like hate speech. @JeffHorwitz [image]
Breaking: A new Meta whistleblower has come forward to share irrefutable evidence that Facebook leadership was personally warned about the horrific harms & abuse young people face on the company's platforms, but did nothing to protect kids or disclose these disturbing findings.
Wow. In an incredible report from the @WSJ, a new Meta whistleblower has come forward, who told Zuckerberg Instagram was unsafe. Zuckerberg never replied. Meta and Instagram cannot be trusted to safeguard American kids and teenagers. This is huge. https://www.wsj.com/...
@WSJ Would love to know how Meta spox Andy Stone thinks “reminders to be kind” stop creeps and predators from unsolicited sexual pics to kids under 16. If only there was a team inside Meta to study that... [image]
Shocking, yet not surprising: Top executives at Meta — including Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg — failed to act on evidence that teens on Instagram regularly faced unwanted sexual advances and hostility based on race, religion, or identity. https://www.wsj.com/...
One in eight Instagram users under the age of 16 said they experienced unwanted sexual advances on the platform in the previous week. https://www.wsj.com/...
#BREAKING: A former Facebook senior engineer has come forward with shocking internal research from the company on Instagram's harms to kids. https://www.wsj.com/...
two constants at Facebook, Inc: 1) good intentioned midlevel people who join the company to try to fix it from the inside rather than very top of Facebook where it's necessary. 2) Stone/PR running point to deflect and defend them from the worst findings. 1/3 [image]
@WSJ This is disappointing but not surprising. I worked there with these leaders and they willfully suspend disbelief on safety issues. This is simply an example of standard negligent behavior when it comes to keeping people safe.
This first-hand knowledge & evidence makes clear that Meta puts profits ahead of safety & the wellbeing of children. Meta had ample chances to clean up its act—instead it backtracked on its commitment & misled Congress. The lesson is Big Tech won't reform itself.
A new whistleblower reveals Meta's internal knowledge of teen harm met with executive and managerial indifference which seems to be the company policy now after all the whistleblowing and zero Congressional action. https://www.wsj.com/...
.@MarshaBlackburn & my Kids Online Safety Act will finally require Big Tech to establish real safeguards & give kids & parents the tools they need to take back their online lives. It's time to say “enough is enough” to Big Tech & pass the Kids Online Safety Act.