• Meta shareholders to vote on a child safety resolution at the Annual General Meeting.
• Resolution demands Meta assess and report on child safety impacts.
• Reports indicate Instagram Teens feature promotes harmful content to minors.

Tomorrow, Meta’s (META) shareholders will cast their votes on a critical resolution concerning child safety at the company’s Annual General Meeting. The proposal calls for Meta to evaluate its child safety measures and determine if there has been any reduction in harm to children using its platforms.

Recent reports point out significant failures in Meta’s Instagram Teens feature, which purportedly continues to promote sexual, racist, drug, and alcohol-related content to minors. The resolution, filed by Proxy Impact on behalf of Dr. Lisette Cooper and supported by 18 institutional investors, emphasizes the need for Meta to bolster its child protection efforts.

Child safety advocate Sarah Gardner highlighted ongoing concerns, stating, “Meta’s current initiatives are insufficient, and we’re urging shareholders to hold the company accountable for improving transparency and safety for children online.” Michael Passoff, CEO of Proxy Impact, also stressed the risks associated with Meta’s focus on AI technologies, citing a dramatic increase in child sexual exploitation reports involving generative AI.

The resolution instructs the Meta Board of Directors to release a report detailing targets and quantitative measures to assess the company’s progress in improving global child safety impacts. This comes amid various legal actions, including lawsuits from 41 states and the District of Columbia, which claim that Meta’s platforms intentionally employ addictive features harmful to young users.

Meta has faced mounting pressure due to internal research and whistleblower reports highlighting the platform’s detrimental effects on children’s mental health, including heightened risks of self-harm and eating disorders. This shareholder action seeks to leverage investor influence to prompt Meta to prioritize child safety in its technology development.