(LibertySociety.com) – What started in 2004 as a networking platform to connect Harvard students, grew to the present version of Facebook with over two billion monthly users. Given its reach, it’s essential the social media giant keep its community safe from misinformation potentially dividing the country and the world. However, a former employee revealed taking care of the public isn’t Facebook’s top priority.
Although the business may have previously had safety measures in place during the 2020 elections, a whistleblower from inside the company revealed it removed the systems after the election ended. To prove her claims, Frances Haugen smuggled out tens of thousands of internal documents proving Facebook repeatedly chose money over public safety.
The Facebook whistleblower who brought internal documents detailing the company’s research to The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. Congress unmasked herself ahead of an interview she gave to '60 Minutes.' https://t.co/cqwc85uStO (tweet reissued with corrected typo)
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 4, 2021
And Facebook isn’t the only social media site worrying Haugen. The documents she provided to the Wall Street Journal show people inside the company knew that 6% of teen Instagram users reported having suicidal thoughts after using the Facebook-owned app. Since some studies show a correlation between mood disorders among teens and social media usage, platforms must do what they can to positively influence young lives.
The whistleblower will testify on Tuesday before a Senate subcommittee regarding consumer protections against Facebook and its subsidiaries, hoping the government will help keep the social media platforms in check.
Copyright 2021, LibertySociety.com
