JAKARTA - A so-called Facebook Inc whistleblower on Sunday 3 September accused the social media giant of repeatedly prioritizing profit over suppressing hate speech and misinformation. He also said his lawyers had also filed at least eight complaints with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Frances Haugen, who works as a product manager on Facebook's civic misinformation team, appeared Sunday September 3 on the CBS television program "60 Minutes," revealing her identity as a whistleblower who provided documents supporting the Wall Street Journal and US Senate investigations that heard about Instagram's dangers. for teenage girls.
Facebook came under fire after the WSJ published a series of stories based on internal Facebook presentations and emails showing the social media company had contributed to increasing online polarization when it made changes to its content algorithm. Facebook was also judged for failing to take steps to reduce doubts about vaccines and realizing that Instagram is detrimental to the mental health of young girls.
Haugen will testify before a Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, September 5 in a hearing entitled "Protecting Children Online," about the company's research into Instagram's effects on young users.
"There's a conflict of interest between what's good for the public and what's good for Facebook," he said during the interview. "Facebook has repeatedly chosen to optimize for its own sake such as making more money."
Haugen, who previously worked at Google and Pinterest, said Facebook had lied to the public about the progress it was making to suppress hate speech and misinformation on its platform.
He added that Facebook was used to help organize the Capitol riots on January 6, after the company shut down security systems following the US Presidential election.
While he believes no one at Facebook is “bad”, he says the company has aligned incentives.
Facebook published a statement refuting the points Haugen made after the televised interview.
"We are continuing to make significant improvements to address the spread of misinformation and malicious content," said Facebook spokeswoman Lena Pietsch. "To suggest that we encourage bad content and do nothing about it is simply not true."
Ahead of the 60 Minutes interview, Facebook's VP of global affairs, Nick Clegg, said on CNN that it was "ridiculous" to suggest that January 6 happened because of social media.
International Case
On Sunday, September 3, Haugen's attorney John Tye, founder of Whistleblower Aid, a legal nonprofit, confirmed a New York Times report that several internal documents had been shared with attorneys general from several states including California, Vermont and Tennessee.
Tye said the complaint was filed with the SEC on the basis that as a public company, Facebook is required not to lie to its investors, or even withhold material information.
The complaint compares Facebook's internal research with its public statements on the issues it researches, according to the 60 Minutes interview.
Tye said Haugen had also spoken to lawmakers in Europe and was due to appear before the British Parliament later this month, in the hope of spurring regulatory action.
He and Haugen are also interested in talking to parliamentarians from countries in Asia, as many of the issues motivating Haugen stem from the region, including ethnic violence in Myanmar, he added.
Whistleblower Aid, which represents Haugen on a pro-bono basis, has also launched a GoFundMe to raise $50,000 for its legal fees.
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