NEW YORK - A former Meta employee is testifying before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on Tuesday, alleging that the Facebook and Instagram parent company was aware of harassment and other harms facing teens on its platforms but failed to address them.
"It's time that the public and parents understand the true level of harm posed by these 'products' and it's time that young users have the tools to report and suppress online abuse," he said in written remarks made available before the hearing. Meta said in a statement that it is committed to protecting young people online, pointing to its backing of the same user surveys Bejar cited in his testimony and its creation of tools like anonymous notifications of potentially hurtful content.
He also told them that his own 16-year-old daughter had been sent misogynistic comments and obscene photos, without adequate tools to report those experiences to the company. The existence of the email was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. "I know she has good days and not so good days, but this was a very good day," Chantal Machabée, a rep for the Montreal Canadiens hockey team, tells PEOPLE