Court filings from a New Mexico lawsuit revealed on February 24, 2026, that senior Meta executives expressed deep concerns regarding default end-to-end encryption for Facebook Messenger and Instagram. Internal documents from 2019 show Monika Bickert, the head of content policy, characterized the encryption plan as irresponsible in private communications.
The primary internal objection centered on the platform's ability to identify and report child exploitation to law enforcement. An internal analysis estimated that reports of such imagery would have decreased by 65% in the previous year if Messenger had been encrypted.
These revelations surface as Meta navigates a series of global lawsuits and regulatory challenges focused on the safety of young users.