I ⬅🅱 wanted to 💦💸 share a 🐙👌 note I 👁 wrote 📓📝 to 🎊 everyone 🏿💂 at our company. 🏢 — Hey 👏 everyone: 👨👥 it’s been quite 💬 a 👌 week, ❤ and I 💁 wanted 😳 to 💰 share some 💥 thoughts with 🤝😤 all 💯 of 🎫 you. First, 🏻🕐 the SEV that 👑🐑 took 😲 down all our services yesterday 🕣😨 was the 👨👏 worst 👹🍆 outage we’ve had 🔙🔙 in 💊 years. ⏳ We’ve 🙋❌ spent the 👏 past 24 hours 🕑😞 debriefing how we 👮👴 can 👀 strengthen our 💩 systems against this 👈🛏 kind of failure. This was 💯 also ➕ a reminder of how 💪 much our work 🏢🏭 matters 💞💞 to 👉 people. The 👫 deeper concern 😕 with an 👹 outage like this isn’t how 💯 many people 👵 switch 🎚 to 💦💦 competitive services or 😇🍆 how 👏 much 🙌👌 money 💵 we 👨🙋 lose, 🚫 but ☝💏 what it 😍👏 means for the 🚀 people 📣😱 who 🔎 rely on our 🍂 services to communicate 🗣 with loved ❤ ones, 💯💯 run 🏃🏃 their 👈🍆 businesses, or support 🔥♀ their 🏻 communities. Second, ⏱🅱 now 😡😢 that ➡ today’s testimony is 🙏 over, 💯 I 👁⌨ wanted to reflect on 🔛⬇ the 👏👏 public debate we’re 👩 in. 🐭🔙 I’m sure many of you 💯 have 👨🙌 found 👏 the recent coverage hard 😩🌰 to 📴 read because 🎉✡ it just 🏻😶 doesn’t reflect the 👏🙊 company 🏭 we 👧 know. 👞 We care deeply 💨💨 about 🤔 issues 😭😭 like 😀😤 safety, well-being 🔥 and 👏 mental ⚖⚖ health. ⛑⛑ It’s 😤➡ difficult to see 👁 coverage that misrepresents our 👩💰 work 💰👨 and 👏💨 our 🍂🌍 motives. At 👉 the 👏💌 most basic level, 🔻 I 👁 think most 🔝🦊 of 👏 us 💦👩 just 🏻🤷 don’t 😡 recognize 🌚 the 😳🏻 false picture of 🌾 the 🎨👌 company that is 😍 being 👏 painted. Many 👦💯 of the 😬 claims don’t make 💰 any 💦📨 sense. 🙏🤗 If we wanted 👩😃 to ignore research, why would 👪 we 🌊🙋 create 📲📲 an 🐖 industry-leading research program to 💦 understand these 🔫 important issues 😭😭 in the 💦♂ first 👌😊 place? 🙌 If we didn’t care 🐅 about 💦 fighting harmful content, 🏗 then 💦😯 why would we 👨👴 employ so 😝 many 🍺❔ more people 👧😩 dedicated 🏅🏅 to 🔣🅱 this than any 🌐♀ other 👈💰 company 🏢 in 👉 our 💩💩 space — even ones 💯💚 larger than ♀😽 us? If 🙄 we 🙋 wanted 👩 to hide our 👴 results, 🔢 why ❓😢 would 🐜 we have 👏🙈 established an 😅🍆 industry-leading standard for 🍆🏻 transparency and 💰 reporting on ⬇🎶 what 🤷✉ we’re doing? 😉 And 💰 if social media 😘 were 🏾 as 👨 responsible 🤦 for 🍆 polarizing society as some people claim, 👏🏾 then 👀 why are 💰 we ❣ seeing 👀 polarization increase 💳 in 🕕📥 the 🍆 US while it 🤐 stays flat or declines in 📥👉 many 👩 countries 🏳 with just 🗼👌 as heavy use 😎👏 of social 📖 media around the 👏 world? 🌎🌎 At ☺ the heart 💔 of 😂 these 🖌🍆 accusations 😲😲 is 👏😂 this 👈👈 idea 💡💡 that 🚬 we prioritize profit ❌ over ⤵👆 safety and 👏😟 well-being. 🕳 That’s 😐 just not 🚫❌ true. 💀 For example, 🔥 one move 🏃👊 that 🗳 has been ⏪📹 called into 🅱🍐 question ❔😎 is 🅱 when 🕐🕐 we 👦 introduced the 👢 Meaningful Social 💰 Interactions change to 💦 News 🎥📰 Feed. This change 🔁🔁 showed fewer viral videos 😏 and more 😖 content 😊 from 👉😂 friends and ♂ family — which we 🎎😂 did 🙀 knowing 💭🤔 it 😭 would mean ♂ people 👨👨 spent less 📉〽 time on ⬇ Facebook, 👯👯 but that 🏻😂 research suggested 👀 it 💯📈 was the 👏 right thing ❌ for people’s 😃 well-being. ✌💦 Is that something 👈😅 a company 😳🤵 focused 😵😵 on 🔛👇 profits over 💦 people 🏿👲 would 🌹💯 do? 👌👌 The argument 🙅🙅 that 💰 we ⛪♀ deliberately push 🏽✋ content 😊☺ that ⚪💦 makes people 💦 angry for profit 💹💲 is deeply 💨💨 illogical. We 👨👴 make 🖐 money from 💓👯 ads, 📜🤔 and advertisers consistently tell us they 😢😄 don’t want 😩😍 their ads 🤔 next 🌨 to harmful or 😇 angry 🆘 content. And 👏🌞 I don’t know any 🏼🔥 tech company 🏭😳 that sets out to build products that make people 👫👨 angry 🙅 or depressed. The 🔝👏 moral, 😤😤 business 🔫🕴 and product 👟👟 incentives all 🏼💦 point ⬆ in 🏠 the 🌫 opposite direction. But 🍑 of 💦🎫 everything 👍👁 published, 🤓🤓 I’m particularly focused 😤 on 👎🔛 the questions ❓ raised ⬆👨 about 💦 our work with ➡😏 kids. 👨 I’ve ⭐👏 spent a 👬 lot 🍑🤣 of 💦💦 time 🕰🌃 reflecting on the kinds 👨 of experiences I want 🍆 my 🏾 kids 👩🙌 and 💰🍳 others 😢 to 🎼 have 🈶🙌 online, and 🕋💰 it’s 😲💦 very 🍀💁 important to 💦 me 😍 that everything 💯🏻 we build 🏠🏚 is safe and 👏💦 good for 🍆 kids. 👧👧 The 😞 reality 🎥 is 💦💰 that young 💦💦 people 👱👉 use technology. Think about 💦 how ❓♂ many 👧 school-age kids have phones. 🤔 Rather ❌ than 👄👉 ignoring 🤐 this, ♂ technology companies should 💘💘 build 🏭🏠 experiences that 🏼 meet 💯 their 👧 needs while 👱 also ☹✅ keeping them safe. ☝😎 We’re deeply 💨 committed to doing industry-leading work 🏢👌 in this ⬆ area. A 💻😯 good 👀 example of 👬😕 this ❗ work 📤 is Messenger Kids, which 👏👏 is 🤔 widely recognized as 🙌🖕 better 😊👩 and safer than ☄⬆ alternatives. We’ve also ➕ worked 💼👷 on bringing this 😍 kind ❗ of age-appropriate 😲💀 experience 😋 with ❌ parental controls for Instagram too. But 🍑☝ given ⤵👈 all ✋ the questions about 💦 whether this 😤 would 😏 actually be better for 🍆💘 kids, 😍 we’ve 👵🏼 paused that 💝👤 project ↗ to 💦 take more 🏻😒 time ⏰ to engage 😹💍 with 🅱 experts and 📡🆗 make sure 🏻👍 anything we do 👌 would ✅😂 be helpful. Like 👏 many 💯 of you, 🅱😍 I 😖 found it 😉 difficult to 👮 read 📕 the 🍗💯 mischaracterization of the 🗣🌌 research into 🚟👉 how 💯 Instagram affects young 💦 people. 👧🙋 As we 👴😮 wrote 📝📝 in 🐭 our Newsroom post explaining this: “The 💋 research actually demonstrated that many 🤗👦 teens we 😍 heard 🙉 from 🌎 feel 😩😁 that using Instagram helps 🆘 them when 🍑🕒 they 😅👥 are 😟🔢 struggling with the kinds 👨 of hard moments and ✔➕ issues 😭😭 teenagers have always ♂ faced. In 🔫 fact, 🛡 in 👉🔚 11 of 💦 12 🕛🤐 areas on the 💙🏡 slide 🎢👀 referenced by the 😫🎆 Journal — including 💨💨 serious 😐 areas like 😄 loneliness, anxiety, sadness and 🍆 eating 🍴🌶 issues — more 💹➕ teenage girls 👏👭 who said 👨🗣 they 👥👧 struggled 😩😩 with 🆕🏼 that 💦😐 issue also said Instagram made those difficult times 🕰🤔 better 🤧 rather ☑ than 😽 worse.” But 🍑 when 👌 it comes to 🚫 young 🎶😍 people’s ♀ health or well-being, 🤒👊 every 👏 negative 👏👏 experience 💰 matters. 💞💞 It is incredibly sad 😭 to 👋 think of 💦 a 💰💰 young person 🙆 in a 👌 moment 🕞🕞 of distress who, instead 🔖💴 of 😎 being comforted, has 😱👏 their ☝🎼 experience 💰 made worse. ❌ We have worked for 🍆 years 🥂 on 👇 industry-leading efforts to help 💁😇 people in 🏼👏 these 🐭 moments and I’m proud 💦😎 of 💦🛢 the 👏💦 work we’ve 🙋 done. ✅👀 We 😃🏃 constantly 〰 use our 💰 research to 👏🔭 improve this 👌🕺 work 📝💵 further. 🤔 Similar 👱👱 to 🔎 balancing other social 📀 issues, 😭😭 I don’t believe 😱🔯 private 🕵 companies should make 📝 all ♂🕔 of the 😫 decisions on their 👏😂 own. 🤢🅱 That’s why we 👶🏻 have 😄 advocated for updated internet regulations for 💰🍆 several 🏋😳 years 📆😫 now. 🍂 I 👁 have 😰 testified in 🌙 Congress multiple times 🤔🙏 and 👏🍆 asked them 😬♀ to 💦 update these 🚟👆 regulations. I’ve 🏾🤞 written op-eds 🍆 outlining the 🚪😜 areas of 💦 regulation we 💣🏻 think 🤔 are most 👥➕ important ✅ related to ☢ elections, harmful content, 💯😤 privacy, and 💰 competition. We’re committed 💰💰 to 💦🎼 doing 🏿😘 the 🏡 best work 😧🏚 we can, 💦 but at 🍆🍆 some level the right body to ✌😩 assess tradeoffs between social equities is 😩😤 our 🌍 democratically elected Congress. For 🔯 example, 🔥🔥 what 🤔🤷 is the 👤 right 👋 age 💀 for 🕓 teens 😎😎 to ✨💦 be 🌈 able 💪 to 💦💦 use internet services? How should internet 🌐 services verify people’s 😣👭 ages? ⌚⌚ And 👏 how should 💘 companies balance teens’ 😎😎 privacy while giving 👸 parents 👬 visibility 👁👁 into 👉🔍 their activity? If 🏿 we’re 😱 going ♂😧 to ✌💦 have 🙀 an informed conversation 😘💬 about 🤷 the effects of 🏧💦 social media on ⬇ young 👼 people, 👩 it’s 😩 important to 🙅 start ▶ with a 🐖😂 full 👌 picture. We’re 👦 committed to doing more ♀😖 research ourselves 💉💉 and making 🍻 more 🍗🙅 research publicly available. That said, 💬 I’m 💰 worried 😩😨 about the incentives that 💥♂ are 😥 being ⛪ set here. ⤵ We have 😭 an 🏻👏 industry-leading research program so that 🤔 we can 🔫 identify 👍 important issues and 💰 work 🚟🍆 on them. 🤢😂 It’s 😍 disheartening to 💦 see 👀 that ❔ work 📝🔨 taken 😔 out 💯 of 💦😜 context 😎 and 👏🏳 used to construct a 💊 false ❌ narrative that 🍜🚟 we don’t 🙅🚫 care. If 👏👏 we 👴🔨 attack 🤼⚔ organizations making an 👹😣 effort to study 📓📓 their ☝ impact on 🔛🏿 the world, 🌎🌎 we’re 👩👉 effectively sending the 👏⏩ message that it’s safer not to 🌱💦 look 👁👀 at 👨😂 all, 💯 in case 😂 you find 🚪 something that 🚟🎢 could be held 👏 against 😫✊ you. That’s the 👏🌊 conclusion other 💰💰 companies seem to 📧 have reached, and 😤👏 I think that 😩 leads to a 👌💰 place 🏡❤ that 👅 would ❓😂 be 👄 far worse ♀👎 for ❓ society. 👩👨 Even 🤤 though it 💯💯 might 🅱🅱 be 🐝 easier 😁 for 📀👷 us 👯👩 to 👮 follow that 😩 path, 🛣 we’re going to 😀 keep 🙊 doing 🏃 research because it’s 🍆 the 🚟 right thing 😍 to 👨 do. 💯💬 I know 💭🤣 it’s 🐓✋ frustrating 😫 to see 👀 the 👏 good 🚟 work ♿🍆 we 👩 do get 🉐🖕 mischaracterized, especially 😈 for those 👞👞 of you 👉🏼 who 👫 are ⭐♀ making 💰 important ❌❌ contributions across ➡➡ safety, integrity, research and product. 👟👟 But 🍑 I 💁👻 believe that over ⤴🙊 the 👪👑 long term if we keep ✊ trying 😔😼 to 🆒💦 do 👌👌 what’s 😤👼 right and delivering experiences that improve people’s 👧👩 lives, it will be better 👌👍 for 🍆💕 our 💰💩 community and our 👻 business. I’ve 👁 asked leaders across the 📖👑 company to 😂😠 do deep 🍑 dives on our 💰📸 work 🏭 across 💰➡ many 🍺👨 areas over 🔝 the 🖼🎅 next few days so 🔫💯 you 😫 can 🍞 see 🙈👁 everything 😀 that 💀👉 we’re doing 😛 to get 😱😓 there. 👌 When I reflect on our 🚟👨 work, 🏢😵 I 😃 think about the real 😖 impact we 😂👶 have 😋👏 on 🔛💦 the 🕸😃 world 🌎 — the people 👨👫 who 😤🏻 can ❗💦 now 😏👇 stay in touch 🙌 with their 🏼😍 loved 😍 ones, 💚 create 📲 opportunities to 😄♂ support 👦🗽 themselves, and 👏 find 🔍 community. This is ❤ why 👩 billions of people love 😍🤗 our 💩🚟 products. I’m 😍 proud of everything we do 🤔🏿 to 🙌💦 keep 👌 building 🏗🏗 the 👏 best 👍 social 💑🅿 products in 👏👏 the world and ➡🙏 grateful to 💳 all 🥂 of 🔴 you for 🍆🍆 the 👏 work 🏃 you 😤 do 💬👏 here 👏 every ⏱ day. 😫😩