Distraction Rebellion
DR

Meta Facebook · Instagram · WhatsApp

Summary: years of enforcement actions and whistleblower evidence show a product set that rewards engagement even when it nudges people towards outrage or harmful content. Improvements exist — but many arrived only when regulators twisted arms.

Overall (draft): ~2.0 / 5 · Regulatory Heat: High

We publish draft scores with sources first; numbers may tighten as we finish product-by-product checks.

Category breakdown — Pros & Cons

1) Data Practices & Protection

Can you trust them with your data — and can you leave with it?

Pros

  • Bug bounties, transparency centre, and regular enforcement reports.
  • Some portability (Download Your Information) and deletion tools.

Cons

2) How They Make Money (incl. monopoly/competition)

Service-to-user vs squeeze-the-user.

Pros

  • Ad-free subscriptions now available in the EU; limited reduction of data reliance where subscribed.

Cons

  • Core model relies on personal-data-fuelled targeted ads at massive scale. Meta says it “does not sell” data, but regulators found its ad processing unlawful without proper consent. Meta policy claim; EDPB position
  • Antitrust scrutiny: EU fined Meta for tying Facebook with Marketplace; U.S. FTC case on Instagram/WhatsApp acquisition strategy continues. EC case; FTC case

3) Manipulative Design

Calm, choice-respecting design — or nudges and traps?

Pros

  • Time-limit tools; hide-like counts; keyword filters; some recommendation controls.

Cons

  • Whistleblower docs & reporting: algorithmic weighting and 2018 feed tweaks prioritised engagement that could amplify divisive content and angry reactions. Washington Post; WSJ Facebook Files
  • Search/Feed surfaces push attention to ads and Meta’s own features; “meaningful social interactions” change linked to more sensational content. Source

4) Mental Health & Minority Safety

Prevalence, exposure, and parity of protection.

Pros

  • Regular Community Standards Enforcement Reports with prevalence metrics; some improvements claimed. Meta Transparency

Cons

  • Facebook Papers showed internal knowledge of harms (e.g., body-image for teens; hate/harassment dynamics). WSJ series; Haugen testimony
  • Independent watchdogs and researchers question low reported prevalence vs lived experience and non-English enforcement. Critical view

8) Child & Youth Impact

Under-18s safe by default?

Pros

Cons

  • Age verification robustness: still not universally robust — date-of-birth can be falsified at sign-up; age-estimation/selfie flow isn’t mandatory platform-wide.
  • Major litigation by U.S. states alleges features designed to keep kids hooked and harmed. States’ complaint
  • New whistleblowers allege suppressed child-safety research (incl. VR). Washington Post 2025

5) Environmental Impact

Emissions, energy, and waste.

Pros

  • 100% renewable energy for operations since 2020; net-zero value chain target 2030. Meta Sustainability

Cons

  • Rapid AI/data-centre scale-up risks higher absolute energy/water use; limited hourly matching disclosure.

6) Employee & Supply Chain Treatment

From moderators to manufacturing.

Pros

  • Supplier codes and some audits reported.

Cons

  • Content-moderator PTSD cases and poor conditions claims (US settlement history; Kenya litigation). US settlement; Kenya cases

7) Civic Influence & Geopolitics

Elections, lobbying, geopolitics.

Pros

Cons

9) Community & Fair Tax

Do they contribute fairly — and transparently?

Pros

  • Standard disclosures; some community grants.

Cons

Age verification verdict: Not robust platform-wide. Meta has age-estimation and selfie checks in places, but under-13s can still slip through with false birthdays; verification isn’t mandatory everywhere yet.

Sources

  1. Irish DPC — €390m fines (ads legal basis), Jan 2023
  2. Irish DPC — €405m Instagram children’s data, Sep 2022
  3. Irish DPC — €265m scraping case, Nov 2022
  4. Irish DPC — €1.2bn EU-US transfers, May 2023
  5. EDPB binding decisions on Meta’s behavioural ads, 2022–2023
  6. FTC — $5bn order, Jul 2019
  7. Reuters — $725m Cambridge Analytica settlement, Dec 2022
  8. European Commission — Meta fined for tying Marketplace, Jul 2024
  9. FTC v. Meta (Instagram/WhatsApp) — antitrust complaint
  10. Washington Post — angry reactions/algorithm weighting, Oct 2021
  11. WSJ — The Facebook Files (including teen harm), 2021
  12. Meta — Community Standards Enforcement Report (latest)
  13. Critique of prevalence metrics (SMEX), 2025
  14. Meta Family Center — Instagram teen safety tools
  15. ABC News — teen Live restrictions, 2025
  16. Instagram — Age verification & Yoti
  17. Multistate AG complaint re youth harms, Oct 2023
  18. Washington Post — VR child-safety whistleblowers, Sep 2025
  19. NBC — $52m moderator PTSD settlement (US), 2020
  20. Reuters — Kenya moderator lawsuits, 2023
  21. Science — 2020 US election Facebook experiments (2023)
  22. European Commission — DSA proceedings vs Meta, Apr 2024
  23. OpenSecrets — Meta lobbying profile
  24. EU Transparency Register — Meta entries
  25. Fair Tax Foundation — Silicon Six 2024 update (ETR)
  26. Meta 10-K — effective tax rate
  27. Frances Haugen — written Senate testimony, 2021 (PDF)

Note: some sources describe allegations or regulator proceedings that are ongoing; we update as outcomes land.

What this means for you

If you keep using Meta

  • Use time limits and quiet notifications; turn off personalised ads where offered.
  • Make accounts private; review DM settings; use keyword filters.
  • Teens: link a guardian in Family Center; review default safety settings.

Alternatives to try

  • Messaging: Signal, iMessage (E2EE). Social: Mastodon/Bluesky for public posts.
  • Photos: Flickr, shared iCloud/Google Photos (with privacy hardened).