Meta is facing fresh criticism after two former safety researchers accused the company of covering up risks its virtual reality products pose to children.
At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Jason Stiszaan, a former researcher, told lawmakers that Meta “chose to ignore the problems it created and buried evidence of negative user experiences.”
The hearing came a day after the Washington Post reported that Meta’s lawyers allegedly interfered with internal research that flagged risks to kids.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, dismissed the claims, calling them “nonsense.” In a statement, the company said the allegations were based on “selectively leaked documents designed to create a false narrative.”
But Statistician and Casey Savage, who once led research on young users’ experiences in Meta’s VR platforms, told senators that the company pressured researchers to erase evidence of child exploitation risks. They said Meta discouraged any research that could show harm to children from its VR products.
Statistician, who worked at Meta from 2018 to 2024, told the committee that Meta’s response to the Washington Post’s reporting was “a lie by omission.” He accused the company of manipulating its own research.
During questioning by Senator Josh Hawley, Savage revealed that her research found child predators were using the popular online game Roblox to exploit minors. She said predators set up virtual strip clubs and paid children with Robux, the in-app currency that can be exchanged for real money, to undress.
Savage told Meta the Roblox app should not be hosted on its VR headsets, but it remains available today.
Roblox denied the claims, calling them “misleading and outdated.” A company spokesperson said safety is its “top priority,” adding that Roblox works around the clock to remove harmful content and ban bad actors.
Meta says it has rolled out parental control tools for its Quest headsets and its VR game Horizon Worlds. These allow parents to track who their children interact with and adjust safety settings. But even these tools came under fire. Florida Senator Ashley Moody, who has sued tech companies over online child harm, admitted she couldn’t figure out how to use the controls herself.
“You’re not surprised, are you?” she asked the whistleblowers. Both replied, “Not at all.”
The testimony adds to a series of damaging revelations about Meta. In 2021, former employee Frances Haugen leaked documents showing that Instagram worsened mental health issues among teens. She accused Meta of prioritizing profits over safety, a claim CEO Mark Zuckerberg strongly denied.
Zuckerberg has faced repeated grilling from lawmakers over children’s safety on Meta’s platforms. Last year, under pressure during another Senate hearing, he publicly apologised to families who said their loved ones had been harmed by the company’s products.
“I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through,” he told them, as some sat directly behind him in the hearing room.
