Facebook Products ‘Harm Children, Stoke Division’, Says Whistleblower

Aformer Facebook Inc employee has said the social media giant’s products harm the mental health of some young users, stoke divisions and weaken democracy, urging United States lawmakers to regulate the company.

Whistleblower Frances Haugen told a U.S Senate subcommittee that Facebook has repeatedly misled the public about the damage it knows teenage girls suffer from its photo-sharing app Instagram, as well as how its products fuel division.

“I’m here today because I believe Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy,” Ms Haugen said in a statement before her testimony on Capitol Hill.

“Congressional action is needed. They won’t solve this crisis without your help.”

Testimony

Her testimony came a day after Facebook and two of its main

services, Instagram and messaging app WhatsApp, suffered an hours-long global outage, and after weeks of mounting pressure on the social media company to explain its policies for young users.

Ms Haugen went public in an interview with CBS on October 3 and revealed she was the one who provided documents used in a Wall Street Journal investigation and a Senate hearing on Instagram’s alleged harm.

The WSJ stories showed the company contributed to increased polarisation online when it made changes to its content algorithm; failed to take steps to reduce vaccine hesitancy, and was aware that Instagram harmed the mental health of teenage girls.

“As long as Facebook is operating in the shadows, hiding its research from public scrutiny, it is unaccountable,” she said.

“Until the incentives change, Facebook will not change. Left alone, Facebook will continue to make choices that go against the common good,” she said.

“Facebook hides behind walls that keep researchers and regulators from understanding the true dynamics of their system.”