A former Meta executive has claimed that the company knowingly targeted teenagers with ads when they were emotionally vulnerable.
Sarah Wynn-Williams said Meta could identify when teens aged 13 to 17 were feeling down and then shared that information with advertisers.
The goal, she said, was to show these teens ads at moments when they were more likely to make a purchase.
A former Meta executive has made serious allegations against the company, claiming it knowingly targeted teenagers with ads when they were emotionally vulnerable. Sarah Wynn-Williams, who previously served as Facebook’s Director of Global Public Policy, shared her claims during a US Senate hearing on Wednesday.
Wynn-Williams said Meta — formerly Facebook — could identify when teens aged 13 to 17 were feeling down, such as when they felt “worthless or helpless,” and then shared that information with advertisers. The goal, she said, was to show these teens ads at moments when they were more likely to make a purchase.
“It could identify when they were feeling worthless or helpless or like a failure, and [Meta] would take that information and share it with advertisers,” she told senators, according to TechCrunch. “Advertisers understand that when people don’t feel good about themselves, it’s often a good time to pitch a product — people are more likely to buy something.”
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Wynn-Williams also explained that if a teen girl deleted a selfie, Meta might alert advertisers that it was a good time to promote beauty products, assuming the teen wasn’t feeling confident. She added that young girls were even shown weight loss ads based on their concerns about their appearance.
She claimed Meta viewed teens as a “very valuable” group for advertisers, even if they were emotionally vulnerable. She also revealed that one business leader at the company even explained to her that Facebook was aware that it has the “most valuable segment of the population” for advertisers, teens, and said that Meta should be “trumpeting it from the rooftops.”
Also read: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he’s done apologising, eyes future beyond social media
The hearing also discussed how Meta may have misled lawmakers about its business practices with China, but many senators were also concerned about Instagram and its past impact on children’s mental health.
In a statement to TechCrunch, Meta strongly denied the claims, calling Wynn-Williams’ statements “divorced from reality and riddled with false claims.”
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Ayushi Jain
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