EURO TRASH F’BOOK
Snitch’s EU plan
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen has a busy schedule in her crusade to make her ex-employer declare “moral bankruptcy.”
Haugen revealed plans on Monday to meet with lawmakers in the European Union and UK, as well as with Facebook’s oversight board.
Her meeting with the oversight board — a Facebook-created group that has been described as the company’s “Supreme Court” and supposedly has the authority to overrule CEO Mark Zuckerberg on content moderation issues — is set for sometime in the next few weeks, the board said Monday.
“Board members appreciate the chance to discuss Ms. Haugen’s experiences and gather information that can help push for greater transparency and accountability from Facebook,” the board said.
Facebook did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Haugen — who leaked internal Facebook studies to The Wall Street Journal and urged lawmakers to regulate the tech giant during US Senate testimony last week — will also speak to a UK Parliament committee on Oct. 25.
The committee is currently considering an online safety bill that would overhaul moderation rules and potentially put companies on the hook for harmful content.
“There needs to be greater transparency on the decisions companies like Facebook take when they trade off user safety for user engagement,” said Damian Collins, a Conservative member of Parliament and chair of the committee.
Two weeks after meeting with UK lawmakers, Haugen on Nov. 8 will head to the European Parliament, where she will speak about “the negative impact of big tech companies’ products on users.”
The EU Parliament is also considering legislation that would beef up antitrust enforcement.
“A public hearing with Frances Haugen will enrich the democratic discourse and our current legislative work in the committees concerned,” said Anna Cavazzini, a German Greens party member who chairs the committee before which Haugen will testify. “The European Union is on the right track to fight hate speech and disinformation online by addressing business models that use algorithms to sell more advertising, even if this has a detrimental effect on society.”