Lawsuit: Meta ignored abuse warnings before Messenger encryption

Internal Meta documents released as part of a lawsuit in New Mexico suggest that senior executives were aware of the risks linked to introducing end-to-end encryption in Messenger.

According to emails from 2019, several managers – including content policy chief Monika Bickert – warned that such a move could significantly limit the company’s ability to report child abuse cases to law enforcement. Internal analyses reportedly projected a decline in reports of up to 65 per cent.

Despite those concerns, Meta proceeded with the plan and introduced encryption in 2023 for messages connected to Facebook and Instagram. The company now says that even before the launch it had been developing additional safety tools designed to function in an encrypted environment.

The lawsuit, brought by Attorney General Raul Torrez, is the first of its kind against Meta to be heard before a jury and comes amid mounting pressure to strengthen protections for young users.

(reuters, pir)