Haugen: ‘Act now’ to fix social media rules

WASHINGTON — Former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen implored lawmakers Wednesday to avert the usual congressional stalemates as they weigh proposals to curb abuses on social media platforms by limiting the companies’ free-speech protections against legal liability.

“Facebook wants you to get caught up in a long, drawn-out debate over the minutiae of different legislative approaches. Please don’t fall into that trap,” Haugen testified at a hearing by a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. “Time is of the essence. There is a lot at stake here. You have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create new rules for our online world. I came forward, at great personal risk, because I believe we still have time to act. But we must act now.”

Lawmakers brought forward proposals after Haugen presented a case in October that Facebook’s systems amplify online hate and extremism and fail to protect young users from harmful content.

Most notably, they include new curbs on the long-standing legal protections for speech posted on social media platforms.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have called for stripping away some of the protections granted by a provision in a 25-year-old law — generally known as Section 230 — that shields internet companies from liability for what users post.

Many social media companies use computer algorithms to rank and recommend content that shows up on users’ news feeds.

Haugen’s idea is to remove the protections in cases where dominant content driven by algorithms favors massive engagement by users over public safety.