Exclusive | Sen. Chuck Grassley puts Mark Zuckerburg on hot seat after NYC Meta worker admits to trying to sext child
Sen.Chuck Grassley is demanding answers from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg after a former company engineer who created “digital experiences for kids” admitted on camera he tried to sext a 13-year-old. Grassley — a powerful Iowa Republican who serves as the Senate’s president pro tempore — sent a scathing letter to the Facebook founder in the wake of the disturbing confession of 44-year-old engineering manager Josh Felker, who was caught in undercover sting by the Predator Poachers Long Island. Felker, 44, who has since been placed on leave from the Facebook parent company, was arrested on July 15 after admitting to the group in a now-viral video that he had been grooming and sexting someone he thought was a teen girl who doesn’t actually exist.The Meta worker had made a number of disturbing statements in the video, including that he would like to be the girl he attempted to groom’s father. “These allegations raise significant questions regarding Meta’s internal governance, employee screening, trust and safety culture, and controls for employees who work on products and experiences designed for children,” Grassley wrote in the letter sent to Zuckerburg on Wednesday, referencing The Post’s exclusive reporting on the sting.“They also raise questions about Meta’s processes for identifying, investigating, and responding to employee misconduct,” the letter added. Grassley questioned the tech giant’s internal vetting practices, oversight for employees working on children’s products, and asked whether the company has ever knowingly kept registered sex offenders on its payroll. The 92-year-old Republican, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and is the chamber’s second-highest-ranking member behind the vice president, gave Meta until Aug.
12 to answer eight pointed questions regarding The Post’s reporting and the Predator Poachers’ sting. These questions include asking Zuckerberg to address each allegation made against Felker, whe...