Overview

• The whistleblowers say Meta's legal team screened, shaped, or vetoed research on youth safety in virtual reality and, in some cases, directed deletions of sensitive findings.
• They cite a 2023 interview in Germany where a teen alleged adults sexually propositioned his under-10 brother, claiming managers ordered the recording and written notes erased.
• Internal documents reportedly show lawyers advising researchers to avoid collecting data on children due to regulatory concerns and to handle sensitive topics to limit legal or reputational exposure.
• Meta disputes the allegations, saying nearly 180 Reality Labs social-issue studies have been approved since 2022 and that product changes include parent supervision tools, adding any deletions would comply with privacy laws.
• A Senate Judiciary subcommittee set a Tuesday hearing on the claims as scrutiny intensifies over reports of children bypassing age restrictions and as Reality Labs faces heavy losses despite about 20 million headsets sold by 2023.