Meta whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams says company targeted ads at teens based on their ‘emotional state’

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Meta whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams, the former director of Global Public Policy for Facebook and author of the recently released tell-all book “Careless People,” told U.S.senators during her testimony on Wednesday that Meta actively targeted teens with advertisements based on their emotional state.

If Meta was willing to target teens based on their emotional states, it stands to reason they’d do the same to adults.

As an example, she suggested that if a teen girl deleted a selfie, advertisers might see that as a good time to sell her a beauty product as she may not be feeling great about her appearance.

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Article Details

Author / Journalist: Sarah Perez

Category: Technology

Markets: United StatesChina

Topics: Sarah Wynn-Williams Social Adtech Congress Advertising Meta Whistleblower Teens Facebook Apps Instagram

Source Website Secure: Yes (HTTPS)

News Sentiment: Neutral

Fact Checked: Legitimate

Article Type: News Report

Published On: 2025-04-09 @ 21:42:39 (6 days ago)

News Timezone: GMT -5:00

News Source URL: techcrunch.com

Language: English

Article Length: 885 words

Reading Time: 5 minutes read

Sentences: 28 lines

Sentence Length: 32 words per sentence (average)

Platforms: Desktop Web, Mobile Web, iOS App, Android App

Copyright Owner: © TechCrunch

News ID: 27860705

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