New emails unsealed this week and spotted by The Verge show Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg suggesting the company should conduct less research into how its platforms harm users, bizarrely citing Apple as a model to follow.
The email was sent in 2021 following a report from The Wall Street Journal that Meta was more than aware that Instagram was “toxic for teen girls,” and had done in-depth research on the topic.
In a subsequent email to Sheryl Sandberg, Meta’s then-COO, and Nick Clegg, head of global affairs, Zuckerberg posited that Meta should do less of this proactive research. Zuckerberg cited Apple as inspiration for this idea:
“Apple, for example, doesn’t seem to study any of this stuff. As far as I understand, they don’t have anyone reviewing or moderating content and don’t even have a report flow in iMessage. They’ve taken the approach that it is people’s own responsibility what they do on the platform, and by Apple not taking that responsibility upon themselves, they haven’t created a staff or plethora of studies examining the tradeoffs in their approach. This has worked surprisingly well for them.”
Zuckerberg also referenced Apple’s plans to detect known CSAM images when they are stored in iCloud Photos, which the company announced in 2021. After backlash from privacy advocates, however, Apple walked back that initiative.
The Verge explains:
While Apple seemed to evade critique, in Zuckerberg’s view, Meta instead “faced more criticism” because it reports more child sexual abuse material (CSAM), which “makes it seem like there’s more of that behavior on our platforms.” On the other hand, he noted, “when Apple did try to do something about CSAM, they were roundly criticized for it, which may encourage them to double down on their original approach.”
What Zuckerberg seems to overlook, however, is that Apple isn’t in the social media business (RIP Ping). Meta operates the two largest social media platforms in the world, and therefore it should be proactively researching how those platforms affect users. Zuckerberg’s comparison to iMessage, an end-to-end encrypted messaging platform, makes zero sense.
Apple does, of course, also offer a number of digital wellbeing features built based on research, including Screen Time, tools for child accounts, communication safety, and more.
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