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The whistleblower, who revealed her identity in a TV interview, said Facebook has repeatedly chosen to “make more money.”
A Facebook Inc whistleblower has accused the social media giant of repeatedly prioritizing profit over cracking down on hate speech and disinformation, and said its lawyers have filed at least eight complaints with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Frances Haugen, who worked as a product manager on Facebook’s civic disinformation team, appeared on the CBS TV show 60 Minutes on Sunday, revealing her identity as a whistleblower who provided the documents that substantiated a Wall Street Journal investigation and Senate hearing into Teenage Girls’ Instagram Hurt.
Facebook has come under fire after the Journal published a series of articles based on internal Facebook presentations and emails showing that the social media company contributed to increased polarization online when it changed its content, has not taken steps to reduce reluctance to vaccinate, and has been aware of Instagram harmed the mental health of adolescent girls.
Haugen will testify before a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday at a hearing titled Protecting Kids Online, about the company’s research into the effects of Instagram on young users.
“There were conflicts of interest between what was good for the public and what was good for Facebook,” she said during the interview. “And Facebook has repeatedly chosen to optimize for its own interests, like making more money.”
Misaligned incentives
Haugen, who previously worked at Google and Pinterest, said Facebook lied to the public about progress in cracking down on hate speech and disinformation on its platform.
A study discovered by Haugen showed that Facebook took action against as little as 3 to 5% of hate speech on Facebook and less than 1% of content classified as “violence and incitement,” according to 60 Minutes.
She added that Facebook was used to help organize the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill, after the company shut down security systems following the US presidential election.
While she believed no one at Facebook was “malicious,” she said the company misaligned its incentives.
Facebook released a statement challenging the points made by Haugen after the TV interview.
“We continue to make significant improvements to combat the spread of disinformation and harmful content,” said Facebook spokesperson Lena Pietsch. “To suggest that we promote bad content and do nothing is just not true.”
Ahead of the 60-minute interview, Facebook vice president of global affairs Nick Clegg said on CNN that it was “ridiculous” to claim that January 6 happened because of social media.
Internal research vs public statements
Haugen’s attorney John Tye, founder of the nonprofit legal organization Whistleblower Aid, confirmed a New York Times on Sunday. report that some of the internal documents were shared with attorneys general in several states, including California, Vermont and Tennessee.
Tye said the complaints were filed with the SEC on the grounds that, as a publicly traded company, Facebook is required not to lie to its investors or even withhold important information.
The complaints compare Facebook’s internal research with its public statements on the issues investigated, according to the 60 Minutes interview.
Tye said Haugen has also spoken to lawmakers in Europe and is due to appear before the UK Parliament later this month in hopes of spurring regulatory action.
He and Haugen are also interested in speaking with lawmakers in Asian countries, as many of the issues that motivated Haugen are from the region, including ethnic violence in Myanmar, he added.
Whistleblower Aid, which represents Haugen pro bono, also started a GoFundMe to raise $ 50,000 for its legal fees.
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