Meta prioritised engagement over safety, former executive testifies
20 Feb 2026

Brian Boland, Meta's former Vice President of partnerships, has testified against the tech giant in a California jury trial.

The case revolves around whether Meta and YouTube are responsible for harming a young woman's mental health.

Boland, who spent over 11 years at Meta building its advertising system, said the company prioritized growth and engagement over user safety.

Boland's shift in perspective on Meta
Whistleblower's evolution

Boland, who left Meta in 2020, testified that he went from having "deep blind faith" in the company to believing that competition and power were Zuckerberg's main priorities.

He described Facebook's early motto of "move fast and break things" as a cultural ethos at the company.

Boland said this approach was about not considering potential product failures but rather getting things out there and learning from them.

Zuckerberg's focus during all-hands meetings
Growth over safety

Boland testified that Zuckerberg made his priorities clear in all-hands meetings, focusing on mobile-first products and staying ahead of competition.

He recalled a digital countdown clock in the office when Facebook had to compete with a rumored Google social network competitor.

However, he claimed there was never a lockdown around user safety during his time at Meta, with Zuckerberg allegedly instilling in engineers that "the priorities were on winning growth and engagement."

Boland disputes Meta's user safety claims
Algorithm's impact

Boland disputed Meta's claims that it prioritizes user safety over engagement.

He said when safety issues arose through press reports or regulatory questions, the primary response was to manage through the press cycle rather than understand them deeply.

Boland testified that algorithms have "immense power" and are "absolutely relentless" in pursuing their programmed goals—often engagement at Meta.

Zuckerberg responds to Boland's testimony
Algorithmic scrutiny

During his testimony, Zuckerberg said Boland "developed some strong political opinions" toward the end of his time at Meta.

Boland confirmed he didn't work on teams focused on youth safety but admitted many of his concerns were about user-generated content.

He also revealed he left over $10 million worth of unvested Meta stock when he quit but still finds it "nerve-wracking" every time he speaks out against the company.