Capitol Hill lawmakers say the “terrible truth” about Facebook is coming to light.
Francis Haugen, a former Facebook employee and whistleblower testified before Congress, saying the social media giant is “morally bankrupt.” Her conclusion was that lawmakers need to hold Facebook accountable for putting its proceeds over the people.
Lawmakers on Tuesday said they were following the money after receiving research from Haugen that shows the company puts children, public safety, privacy, and our democracy in harm’s way.
“The companies know how to make Facebook safer but they won’t because they put profits before people,” Haugen said.
The former employee turned whistleblower is pulling back the curtain on what happens at Facebook. She’s calling on Congress to protect young users from the social media giant’s dangerous tactics.
She says Facebook consistently chose to prioritize profits despite knowing people were harmed and some even died due to deceptive algorithms used to control what we see, including addicting and divisive content.
“Not only does the company hide most of the data, when Facebook was asked questions about how they directly impact the health and safety of children, they chose to mislead and misdirect,” Haugen explained.
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Documents exposed by the former employee indicate that the company rejected their own research regarding the safety of children.
Haugen says the company knowingly marketed dangerous content regarding eating disorders and self-harm to kids. She also says Facebook targets children as young as 8-years-old to consume social media.
Tuesday’s hearing coincides with a power outage Monday that cut off more than a billion on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms worldwide.
While the company blamed the blackout on configuration changes to key routers, some lawmakers raised questions about the timing given today’s potentially damaging hearing.
“The only way to move forward and heal is by first by being honest and declaring moral bankruptcy,” said Haugen.
Now a bipartisan congressional road map for reform is in the works to protect children from Big Tech. The sub-committee has also called for further investigations into Facebook selling personal data targeting ads towards children.
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