Facebook “slaughtered” At US Senate Hearing, Called Addictive Substance!

Facebook is accused of being more concerned with profit than content security. (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA - US lawmakers hit Facebook on Tuesday, October 5, accusing CEO Mark Zuckerberg of pushing higher profits while being cocky about user security. They demanded regulators investigate whistleblower allegations that the social media company is harming children and fueling societal divisions.

During a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing, rapporteur Frances Haugen called for transparency about how Facebook persuades users to extend their stay on the site and gives them more opportunities to advertise to them.

"Facebook has been operating in the shadows, hiding its research from public scrutiny, it's irresponsible," said Haugen, a former Facebook employee who is now a whistleblower.

"Corporate leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram more secure, but won't make the necessary changes because they've put their astronomical advantage over people. Congressional action is needed," Haugen said.

In an era when bipartisanship was rare in Washington, now all lawmakers on both sides, Democrats and Republicans, condemned the company. They described growing anger in Congress with Facebook amid demands for legislative reform.

Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican, said he was concerned about how Facebook and its subsidiaries like Instagram were affecting children's mental health. "I think we're going to look back 20 years from now and we're all going to be like 'what were we thinking?'" Sullivan said.

Haugen revealed that it was he who provided the documents used in Wall Street Journal investigations and Senate hearings about the dangers of Instagram to teenage girls. He compared social media sites to addictive substances like tobacco and opioids.

Panel chair Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, said Facebook knew its products could be addictive. "Technology is now facing an astonishing moment of great truth," said Blumenthal.

He asked Zuckerberg to testify before the committee, and the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the company.

"Our children are the victims. Today's youth who look in the mirror feel doubtful and insecure. Mark Zuckerberg should look at himself in the mirror," Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal said after the hearing that he wanted to ask Zuckerberg why he rejected recommendations to make the company's products safer for users.

But despite the barrage of criticism, Facebook's share price was up 2.2% at $333.43 on Tuesday, October 5 afternoon.

Coming a day after Facebook suffered a 6-hour blackout, Haugen demonstrated the damage in his testimony: "For more than five hours Facebook was not used to deepen divisions, disrupt democracy and make girls and young women feel bad about their bodies," he said.

When lawmakers criticized Facebook and Zuckerberg, a company spokesman fought back on Twitter, arguing Haugen had not worked directly on some of the issues he raised.

But Haugen himself was a former product manager on Facebook's civil misinformation team who left the company with tens of thousands of classified documents.

Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican, also accused Facebook of turning a blind eye to children under the age of 13 on its site. "It is clear that Facebook prioritizes profit over the well-being of children and all users," he said.

Lena Pietsch, a spokeswoman for Facebook, denied Haugen's knowledge of the company's internal workings. "We disagree with his characterization of many of the problems he witnessed," Pietsch said in a statement.

Last week, Antigone Davis, Facebook's head of global security, defended the company before Congress and said it was seeking to release additional internal studies in an effort to be more transparent about its findings.

Senator Maria Cantwell, chair of the Commerce Committee, said she would write to Facebook insisting they must not delete documents related to Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority. An aide said he would ask for more extensive document storage.

Haugen said he would encourage "public scrutiny and scrutiny" of how content algorithms work and their consequences. He suggested creating a special agency within the federal government to oversee social media companies.

Blumenthal said he may want to hold additional hearings to discuss national security issues related to Facebook. Haugen said Facebook had also done too little to prevent its site from being used by people plotting violence.

Facebook was used by people plotting mass killings in Myanmar and the January 6 attacks on the US Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump determined to overturn the 2020 election results.

Senator Edward Markey, speaking to Zuckerberg who was not present at the meeting and, said during the trial: "Your time to invade our privacy, and prey on children is over. Congress will take action."

Throughout the trial, lawmakers said Zuckerberg went sailing instead of facing his responsibilities. The Facebook CEO last weekend posted a video taken with his wife's new smart glasses on board.