Hawkeye Reporter

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), along with Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), has sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg seeking answers about the company’s practices regarding children’s privacy and emotional targeting on its platforms.

The senators referenced earlier communications, including an April letter from Grassley to Zuckerberg that addressed allegations of Meta using targeted advertisements directed at children based on their emotional state. Grassley also released text messages between former Facebook employees related to these claims. The senators noted, “To date, Meta has failed to fully and completely respond to Senator Grassley’s letter, but it has not questioned the accuracy of the records he made public … Meta’s failures to protect teens from exploitation on its platforms is not isolated to targeted advertisements.”

In their recent correspondence, the senators cited a draft presentation describing a 2014 Facebook study called the Global Youth Study. This study analyzed how 13- to 24-year-olds respond emotionally on social media and what triggers drive them to share branded content. According to information obtained by Grassley’s office, this research was intended for influencers, agencies, brands, sales teams, industry professionals, and customers.

Concerns were also raised about Meta's compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The senators pointed out a Federal Trade Commission complaint alleging that Meta allowed children under 13 to register adult accounts for its Horizon Worlds VR platform without adequate parental consent measures. The FTC complaint further alleges that Meta collected large amounts of personal data from these users in violation of COPPA requirements. Additionally, according to the complaint, plans were made by Meta to expand access for children as young as ten years old without implementing sufficient safety protocols or requiring parental consent for data collection.

The senators stated: “The complaint alleges that, as a result, Meta has unlawfully collected data on children and exposed children to ‘racism, sexual harassment, bullying, and child endangerment.’ If Meta disagrees with these publicly filed assertions, we welcome an explanation.”

They also referenced reports from August 2025 indicating that artificial intelligence chatbots developed by Meta had engaged minors in conversations described as romantic or sensual.

Grassley’s office said it had obtained additional documents relevant to targeted advertising toward teenagers after requests for such records from Meta went unanswered or were met with only partially responsive materials.

The senators requested full responses from Zuckerberg regarding past letters and specific questions about research studies conducted by Facebook/Meta related to youth emotional states; compliance steps taken concerning COPPA; user demographics for Horizon Worlds; safeguards against bullying and exploitation; age restrictions; protections against sexual exploitation in virtual reality platforms; and internal policies governing generative AI deployment.