The Executive Who Helped Build Meta’s Ad Machine is Now Trying to Expose It

Brian Boland transitioned from having “deep blind faith” in Meta to criticizing it publicly. He testified to a California jury about how the system he helped build rewarded drawing users, including teens, onto Facebook and Instagram despite potential risks. Boland’s testimony followed CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s defense of Meta’s mission to balance safety with free expression. Boland argued against this, indicating that Meta prioritized growth and profit over user wellbeing, guided from the top by Zuckerberg. Over his 11 years with Meta, Boland moved from faith in the company to believing that growth and competition were Zuckerberg’s main priorities. His testimony highlighted a culture focused on rapid growth, famously encapsulated by the phrase “move fast and break things,” emphasizing product release over potential harms. Boland stated that Zuckerberg’s priorities were clear, with intense focus on mobile-first development and outpacing competition, exemplified by a countdown clock during a competitive push against Google+. Despite denying that Meta maximizes user engagement over safety, Boland contradicted this, alleging that the company managed safety concerns as PR issues rather than substantive problems. He recounted trying to raise issues with Zuckerberg directly, only to receive an unsatisfactory reply. Leaving Meta in 2020, Boland abandoned significant financial gains due to differences with Meta’s handling of issues like January 6th, expressing that company algorithms relentlessly pursued engagement over morality. Although not part of youth safety teams, Boland raised concerns about the negative impacts of Meta’s algorithms. During cross-examination, it was recognized algorithms and business models weren’t inherently bad, though Boland’s worries often involved user content. Despite respect from peers, reflected in positive articles, Boland claimed a closed culture developed over time at Meta. In court, Boland shared how Meta’s algorithms were designed with an uncaring relentlessness for engagement, highlighting the internal shift to a profit and growth-driven mindset over a safety-centric approach.