Blackburn, Grassley, Hawley Demand Answers on Meta’s Emotional Targeting of Children, Repeated Alleged Failures to Comply with Child Privacy Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) are demanding answers from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg following new disclosures outlining the company's efforts to target teenagers based on their emotional state and Meta's reported failure to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Senator Blackburn has led the charge to pass the Kids Online Safety Act to stop Big Tech companies from exploiting children on their platforms. Recently Senator Blackburn demanded accountability from Meta over reports that the company is failing to protect underage users from sensual discussions with AI-powered digital chatbots. She also raised concerns about Meta's latest "map" feature on Instagram, which allows underage users to share their location with traffickers and pedophiles.

Facebook's Own Study Contradicts Claims It Doesn't Offer Tools to Target People Based on Their Emotional State

"Chairman Grassley's office… obtained a draft PowerPoint that describes a 2014 study conducted by Facebook entitled Global Youth Study - Overview of Findings. In the study, Facebook analyzed the emotional behavior of 1,000 respondents aged 13 to 24 years old to determine how they respond to social media, whether they share branded material with peers, and what emotional triggers drive the spread of brand-based content. According to slide 170, the audience of the Global Youth Study is 'influencers, agencies, brands, sales, other industry, and customers.' This new information appears to contradict Facebook's 2017 statement that it 'does not offer tools to target people based on their emotional state.'"

Meta Has Unlawfully Collected Data on Children and Exposed Them to Harm

"Further, according to an April 10, 2025, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint filed against Meta, the company allegedly allowed children under the age of 13 to register with adult accounts for the Horizon Worlds VR platform and failed to take appropriate measures to ensure compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Specifically, the FTC complaint alleges that Meta has collected 'vast amounts of personal information from children under 13 without parental consent,' in violation of COPPA. Even more concerning, Meta allegedly chose to move forward with plans to expand the Horizon Worlds platform to children as young as 10 without instituting appropriate safety measures to ensure child accounts required parental consent for data collection. 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. Even more recent, on August 14, 2025, reports surfaced stating that Meta's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots 'engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.' Reports also indicate that 'Meta's AI chatbots flirt or engage in sexual roleplay with teenagers.'"

Click here to read the full letter.

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