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Senator Richard Blumenthal opened the hearing with opening statements, outlining the Facebook revelations made public by Haugen and condemning the company for its pursuit of profit above all else.
He noted one of the biggest bombshells in the documents – proof that Facebook knew its products harm teens and is using its algorithms “to amplify their insecurities.”
“Their profit was more important than the pain it caused,” he said.
Blumenthal drew parallels between Facebook and Big Tobacco – a comparison a number of senators made in the wake of Haugen’s denunciation. He said Big Tech was facing its “Big Tobacco moment”.
“There is documented evidence that Facebook knows its products can be addictive and toxic to kids, and it’s not just that they made the money – it’s that they valued them more than the pain they were causing to children and their families, ”he said.
“The damage to self-esteem inflicted by Facebook today will haunt a generation,” he added. “Feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, rejection and self-hatred will impact this generation for years to come. “
Haugen said Facebook has proven it can do more to solve its problems by changing its content policies for several weeks around the 2020 U.S. election.
Around this time, she said, the company deliberately gave political content a lower priority on its News Feed. But he quickly returned to the old algorithms that valued engagement above all.
“These documents that you revealed provided this company with a plan for reform, provided specific recommendations that could have made Facebook and Instagram safer,” said Blumenthal.
“The company has repeatedly ignored these recommendations from its own researchers,” said Blumenthal. “Facebook, as you say, so powerfully maximizes profits and ignores pain.”
He presented in evidence a letter from 52 state attorneys general on the need to hold Facebook to account.
Blumenthal also touted the legislation he introduced with Senator Ed Markey. Called the KIDS law, it would regulate the design of the social platform to minimize damage.
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