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Senators hear whistleblower say Meta targeted teens’ emotional states to sell ads
Summary
Sarah Wynne Williams told a Senate subcommittee that Facebook/Meta tracked signals from 13–17‑year‑old users—examples included deleted selfies and signs of low self‑worth—and provided those signals to advertisers. Senators cited the Kids Online Safety Act and earlier whistleblowers as context while pressing Meta’s accountability.
Former Facebook policy director Sarah Wynne Williams told the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee that Meta used behavioral signals from teenagers to target advertising and optimize engagement, a practice senators said prioritized profit over child safety.
Williams described internal research and product design decisions that identified signals such as when a 13‑ to 17‑year‑old “deleted a selfie” and used those signals to serve targeted ads; she said advertisers were given cues to reach users when they were feeling “worthless or helpless.”
Senator Marsha Blackburn, a…
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