Meta safety tools were 'designed to fail,' witness says

A former Meta engineering director testified on Wednesday that some Facebook and Instagram safety tools were 'designed to fail,' as Meta defended itself in a California trial over claims it harmed children.

Arturo Bejar, the first witness in a trial expected to last about six weeks, said Meta made some safety features optional, including Instagram's 2021 'Take a Break' feature, which lets users set reminders to stop scrolling.

'In my experience, Take a Break is a feature that's designed to fail,' Bejar testified. He also said notifications were built to bring people back so they spend more time on the apps and generate more revenue, not for mental health or user safety.

A coalition of US states accuses Meta of deliberately designing Facebook and Instagram to hook children and gather their data while misleading the public. California prosecutor Megan O'Neill said during opening statements that Meta's business model was to hook users, hold them, harvest their data and hide the truth from the public.

Meta denies the allegations. Its lawyer Paul Schmidt said the company recognised that some people struggle with social media use and tried to create tools to reduce those risks. Before the trial began, Meta said it had worked with parents, experts and law enforcement to build safeguards for children.

A loss could expose Meta to a $200 billion penalty and force changes to its business model. Court documents say Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri are among witnesses expected to testify, though California Attorney General Rob Bonta declined to confirm whether Zuckerberg would be called to the stand.