Harriet Beynon, 21, slams Meta’s intrusive marketing ploys

A young Sydney woman has slammed Facebook’s “scary’ marketing techniques, after a whistleblower from the social media giant laid bare how low it went to boost advertising revenue.

A Facebook whistleblower has accused the company of ­exploiting teen girls’ insecurities for profit in explosive claims that have laid bare real fears for the safety of Australian children and left the Prime Minister “alarmed”.

Sarah Wynn-Williams – the former director of global public policy at Meta, who worked at the parent company of Facebook and Instagram from 2011 to 2017 – has testified to the US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism that the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives repeatedly ­vetoed opportunities to protect children from online harm.

Ms Wynn-Williams said Facebook regarded its youngest users as “vulnerable yet very valuable” and would use off-platform data – such as a teenage girl deleting a selfie from her photo app – to notify advertisers it was a “really good time” to try sell her a beauty product.

“Facebook was targeting 13 to 17-year-olds,” she said.

“It could identify when they were feeling worthless or helpless or like a failure, and they would take that information and share it with advertisers.

Harriet Beynon, 21, says she’s noticed intrusive targeting. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“They (the executives) know the harm that this product does … They don’t allow their own teenagers to use the products that Meta develops. The hypocrisy is at every level.”

The former director’s claims echoed those made in 2021 by fellow Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen, who leaked a trove of internal documents that revealed the social media giant had been warned its Instagram platform was making “body-image issues worse for one in three teenage girls”.

Harriet Beynon, 21, from Bellevue Hill, said she’s experienced the kind of intrusive targeting described by Ms Wynn-Williams.

“It’s a full invasion of privacy – and it’s not just Facebook, I think every app’s doing it,” she said.

“The other day I was talking to a friend about bikini brands and next minute, I’m getting targeted with the exact ones she mentioned.

“We always joke that our phones are listening, but ­hearing it from someone who actually worked there? That’s scary.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose ban on social media for under-16s has been backed by state and territory governments, said the evidence from Ms Wynn-Williams was “alarming” and justified the “world-leading” ban.

“There are examples of social media companies causing social harm,” he said.

“I strongly believe they have a social responsibility and my government will hold them to account.”

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant was also contacted for comment.

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