Former Meta employee Antonio Béjar has emerged as a prominent critic of Instagram’s impact on young users, highlighting persistent safety concerns despite recent company commitments to reform. Béjar, who once worked within Meta’s integrity teams, expressed regret over allowing his own daughter to use the platform, citing its addictive design and features that encourage exhibitionistic and aggressive behavior as inherently unsafe for youth.
Béjar compared social media platforms like Instagram to the tobacco industry, emphasizing the ways in which the app normalizes harmful interactions, including unwanted sexual advances. He argued that Meta’s leadership, specifically CEO Mark Zuckerberg, holds ultimate responsibility for the company’s culture and policies, contending that decisive changes could be implemented promptly if there were genuine interest in protecting younger users.
His dissent follows in the footsteps of whistleblower Frances Haugen, whose revelations about Meta’s internal research and practices ignited public and governmental scrutiny. Béjar noted that speaking out about Meta’s shortcomings came with professional and personal costs, including isolation from colleagues. However, he found encouragement in Haugen’s example and the growing demand for greater accountability within the technology sector.
Meta has consistently maintained that it prioritizes teen safety and invests extensively in tools designed to protect young users, including the introduction of Teen Accounts with default protective settings. A company spokesperson emphasized ongoing efforts to collaborate with parents and experts to create meaningful and secure online experiences for adolescents.
Legal pressures have recently intensified. In August, Meta settled a lawsuit initiated by multiple U.S. states, agreeing to pay up to $18 billion while denying any wrongdoing. Crucially, the settlement requires the company to implement a series of new safeguards for users under 18. These include daily time limits of two hours on Instagram and Facebook, disabling notifications during school and night hours, blocking autoplay features, and providing parents with enhanced control over their children’s usage.
Béjar described these developments as significant achievements, noting that Meta’s commitments to transparency around age verification and usage limits represent unprecedented steps in social media regulation. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that these measures are insufficient to address the broader challenges fully. Meta also faced a separate legal defeat in March when New Mexico’s state government secured a $942 million judgment against the company for misleading the public about safety practices. Numerous other lawsuits remain underway.
The tightening of regulatory frameworks internationally suggests a turning point for social media oversight. Béjar, who has spent recent years advocating before governments and academic audiences, remains cautiously optimistic about progress. Beyond his activism, he pursues artistic projects, including collaborations on operatic works, while his daughter now pursues a career restoring classic sports cars.
Looking ahead, Béjar calls for independent evaluations of social media platforms’ safety, proposing standards akin to vehicle emissions testing to provide transparent risk assessments for parents and users alike. “It’s still just the beginning, but I do feel hope,” he said, reflecting a growing momentum toward accountability in the digital landscape.