Frances Haugen Calls On Government To Keep An Eye On Facebook's Efforts To Remove Facial Recognition

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen has asked the government to monitor Facebook's efforts to remove the facial recognition feature. (photo: twitter)

JAKARTA - Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen welcomed the announcement from the multi-platform social media giant that Facebook would remove the facial recognition feature. But Haugen also urged strict government oversight of the move to ensure the social media network fulfills its promises.

Facebook made the announcement on Tuesday, November 3, in part in response to increased scrutiny from regulators and legislators over user security and breaches on its platform. Activists have criticized face printing as a serious threat to privacy. "I strongly encourage government oversight," Haugen said.

"When they say we've gotten rid of this, what does it really mean," he asked. "There has to be more transparency about how these operations work to make sure they actually follow through."

Ahead of a meeting with Germany's justice minister, the whistleblower, who leaked a number of damaging documents about how Facebook has worked so far, also added that the EU and UK's "principles-based" regulations are more effective at curbing technology companies than US regulations, which are more rigid because of their "principles-based" approach. rule.

Europe also has a special role to play in ensuring Facebook improves its monitoring of content in languages other than English.

Facebook has faced criticism for failing to act against hate speech in languages from Burmese to Greek even as Facebook stepped up its monitoring of English-language posts following the January 6 US Capitol raid.

"A multilingual place like Europe can be a support for people around the world who don't speak English," he said. "The reality is that Facebook is radically underinvesting in safety and security systems for all languages other than English."