Stop asking me to use WhatsApp
I’m not using WhatsApp thanks. It causes me loads of grief NOT using it, but this is why: META.
Role in the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar (2017) — Meta's Free Basics program made Facebook the de facto internet in Myanmar. The UN's Fact-Finding Mission concluded social media played a significant role in the 2017 violence against the Rohingya, which the U.S. government has designated a genocide. Amnesty International found Meta's algorithms amplified hate speech and its moderation was inadequate; military-linked accounts remained active until August 2018, after mass displacement had already occurred.
Youth mental health harms — Public health officials and courts have linked Meta's platforms to depression, anxiety, and body-image harm in young users. A March 2026 US jury ruled Meta designed addictive products that harmed young people, in a case involving a claimant who became addicted to Instagram at age nine and later developed self-harm, body dysmorphic disorder, and social phobia.
Privacy and encryption rollback — As of May 2026, Meta ended end-to-end encryption for Instagram direct messages, meaning it can now access DMs including images, videos, and voice notes. Ethical Consumer gives Meta's platforms a privacy score of 0/100.
Using AI chat data for ad targeting — Since December 2025, Meta has used data from conversations with its AI assistant to refine ad targeting and content recommendations, prompting privacy complaints to regulators.
AI chatbot guidelines involving minors — Leaked internal guidelines reportedly permitted Meta's AI chatbots to have "romantic or sensual" conversations with children, a policy that passed through multiple internal review layers before being reported by Reuters.
Content moderator working conditions — Contracted moderators have suffered severe psychological harm: one Cognizant employee died of a heart attack on the job (no defibrillator on site), others developed PTSD and sued, and in 2025 Meta's moderation contractors in Ghana filed legal action over similar issues.
Reduced content moderation / fact-checking — In January 2025, Meta rolled back fact-checking and loosened moderation guidelines, raising concerns about increased hate speech and misinformation; critics have debated whether this reflected genuine principle or political appeasement.
Arbitrary account bans via AI — In July 2025, the BBC reported Facebook and Instagram users had accounts arbitrarily banned, with allegations of AI mishandling both enforcement and appeals.
Tax practices — Meta has subsidiaries in tax havens including Delaware and Ireland, and was named in the Fair Tax Foundation's 2025 "Silicon Six" report as having the second-worst tax conduct among major tech companies.
Israel-Palestine content moderation — Meta has scored poorly in Ethical Consumer's Israel-Palestine rating, criticized for censoring and silencing Palestinian voices and narratives.
Pattern of past privacy scandals — Current controversies follow a longer history including Cambridge Analytica and facial recognition missteps that have progressively eroded public trust.