With the Congress investigation, whistlemen accused Meta of hiding the risk of child safety.
Meta is facing another storm of conflict as City Blover has accused the company of hiding research on children’s safety cases in virtual reality places. The current and former employees have changed thousands of documents to the Congress, it says the company has allegedly buried the results about harmful competitions related to hunters and young consumers.
The most serious claim includes a researcher who was told to delete notes from an interview with a family in Germany. The family’s child often met strangers in the VR platforms, and a teenage boy said that adults had suggested his younger brother, who was under ten years old. Although parents raised concerns about grooming in the horizon world, an internal report apparently left details about the child’s experience. However, Meta has denied the wrongdoing and said that there was nothing wrong with her research.
A company spokesman argued that the allegations distort the truth. The statement said that Meta has approved about 180 180 studies through her Reality Labs Division since 2022, many of which focus on the safety of young people. According to the company, this research has already led to new reservations, such as parent surveillance tools, unwanted contact limits, and default safety settings in the horizon world. Meta said her teams have worked hard to protect young consumers and that whistleblower accounts misrepresent their efforts.
Nevertheless, lawmakers are paying attention. The Senate’s Judicial Committee has heard a hearing on “hidden losses: Setti Bloor’s allegations, which buried his child safety research.” The scheduled session is expected on Tuesday whether the company has surpassed business goals from the welfare of children.
The new wave of accusations increases recent criticism of Meta’s artificial intelligence programs. Internal records have revealed that companies’ chat boats are allowed to engage in “sex” conversations with children. The revelation gave rise to anger in Washington, with Senator Josh Holi announcing an investigation into Meta’s AI methods. It accused the company of negligent technology, which could encourage sexual exchange with children under the age of eight, calling it “sick” and calling for answers.
Meta has invested billions of dollars in her virtual reality division since Branding from Facebook in 2021. Since the acquisition of Oculus in 2014, the company has developed VR as the next border of online interactions. Still, despite the huge costs, the adoption of consumers is limited, and the realistic labs have raised $ 60 billion estimated. With the increasing scrutiny of safety and privacy, these shocks have put the company under pressure from regulators, parents and advocacy groups.
Legal problems are also increasing. A former security chief in the WhatsApp recently filed a lawsuit in California claiming that meta employees can access the user’s sensitive data, including profile photos, locations, contact lists, and group membership. Although major corporations often face litigation, the matter comes at a time when the company is already on fire from several directions.
Overall, the accusations and litigation presented the image of a tech devotee with his vision of Metaworus, while struggling to eliminate security and confidence matters. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has long been promoted virtual reality, which is where people have a place to work, sports and communication. But the whistleblowers argue that in moving forward, the company was not transparent about the serious threats posed by children in these digital spaces.
The upcoming Senate hearing can identify the important point about how legislators monitor both virtual reality and artificial intelligence. For now, Meta says her research is correct, its security measures are being expanded, and critics are examples of cherry picker to build an unfair story. The whistleblowers face that the problems are systematic, and that Meta has failed to show the full scope of what her teams have discovered.
Whether the Congress supports the company or demands strict surveillance. Certainly, the debate about the protection of children online is only increasing, and the virtual reality of Meta will continue to handle and the AI will continue to work as a test case on how to balance innovation with accountability.
Sources:
Meta Vittel Blues alleged that the company buried children’s safety information
Meta Vittel Blurz increases the safety alarm of children
Former meta researchers testify to a company burying children’s safety studies
