“Almost no one knows what’s going on inside”

Françoise Haugen, an example of Facebook who exposed the company’s secret practices in the media, denounced on Tuesday that almost no one outside the company knows what is going on inside, where the public is “repeatedly duped” on the harmful effects of their platforms.

24 hours after the historic global blackout that left Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp inaccessible, Haugen told the consumer protection subcommittee, US Senate Product and Data Security that the time he worked in the company realized a “devastating truth”: the company hides information from the public and governments.

“The documents I have provided to Congress prove that Facebook repeatedly deceives the public on what his own research reveals about children’s safety, the effectiveness of their artificial intelligence, and its role in spreading divisive and extremist messages, ”he said.

Haugen appeared before the Upper House subcommittee on Tuesday after the leaks she herself has made to the newspaper in recent days The Wall Street Journal. The informant revealed her identity in an interview broadcast on Sunday with the TV channel’s “60 minutes” program. SCS.

The former employee claimed she decided to testify in Congress because she believed Facebook’s products harm minors, promote division and weaken democracy.

“Company executives know how to secure Facebook and Instagram (owned by Facebook), but they won’t make the necessary changes because put their astronomical benefits before people“, he denounced.

Haugen, who has worked as a product manager since 2006 in the tech industry, at Google, Pinterest, Yelp and Facebook, said his work focused on algorithms and the recommendations made to the user on the products.

Children and adolescents, the victims

The hearing this Tuesday in the Senate subcommittee is above all devoted to the effect of the products and services offered by the social network in the minors.

Haugen indicated that the company has its own studies which indicate that the use of its platforms is harmful to minors, since can be addicting and encourage eating habits that can lead to anorexia.

He pointed out that within the company, they “disastrous” decisions for children and adolescents, as well as for public safety and personal privacy.

“This is why we must demand that Facebook make changes“said Haugen, who ensured that during the time he worked for the company, he saw how the company led by Mark Zuckerberg always leaned towards its own advantages when it had to choose between these or the Internet safety.

“The result is more splitting and more damage,” he remarked.

“In some cases this dangerous online conversation has led to real violence that injures and even kills people she continued. It’s not just about some social media users who are angry or unstable, or about one party more radical than the other. It’s about Facebook, which chooses to grow at all costs. “

With information from agencies.

SL