Whistleblower reveals Meta covered up child safety research and WhatsApp security vulnerabilities
Meta has reportedly faced multiple whistleblower accusations of suppressing child safety research and ignoring security issues in its messaging app, WhatsApp.
Meta suppressed children's safety research, 4 whistleblowers claim | TechCrunch
Meta curbed research about VR safety risks to kids, whistleblowers say | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/policy/773821/meta-virtual-reality-horizon-worlds-youth-safety-research-whistleblower
Ex-WhatsApp cybersecurity head says Meta endangered billions of users in new suit | Technology | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/08/meta-user-data-lawsuit-whatsapp
Four people, including a former Meta employee, have filed a whistle-blowing lawsuit alleging that Meta intentionally suppressed research into the potential harmful effects of virtual reality (VR) products on children. The allegations are expected to be a central topic of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for September 9, 2025.
According to the accusers, Meta changed its internal policies after former employee Francis Haugen leaked the ' Facebook Documents ' in 2021. As a result, research on sensitive topics like child safety and politics is now subject to review by lawyers and sometimes rejected. They also reportedly received suggestions to ambiguize the descriptions of research findings. For example, a former researcher testified that his superiors instructed him to delete a recording of an interview in which a 10-year-old boy was sexually propositioned on the virtual reality platform 'Horizon Worlds.'
A Meta spokesperson responded, saying the allegations 'were stitched together from a number of examples to fit a predetermined false narrative.' Meta claims that it has approved approximately 180 studies on youth safety and well-being since the beginning of 2022, and that the research has led to product updates such as parental monitoring tools.
Additionally, Ataullah Baig, WhatsApp's former cybersecurity chief, filed a lawsuit alleging that Meta compromised user data and misled regulators. According to Baig's complaint, approximately 1,500 engineers had unrestricted access to WhatsApp user data, potentially violating Meta's $5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2020.
Baig further alleges that Meta was aware of the problem of over 100,000 account hijackings every day and the unauthorized scraping of 400 million user profiles, but prioritized increasing user numbers and failed to take drastic measures. Baig claims that he reported the problems to management, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, but was retaliated against and fired in February 2025 for 'poor performance.' He describes Meta's corporate culture as 'cult-like,' stating that it was an environment where it was not acceptable to disagree with past decisions approved by upper management.
Meta has completely denied Baig's allegations. A WhatsApp spokesperson said, 'This is a well-worn tactic used by former employees who were fired for poor performance to misrepresent the continued efforts of their team.' The spokesperson also noted that multiple senior engineers confirmed that Baig's performance fell short of expectations, and that the Department of Labor had dismissed his allegations of retaliation.
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