Ex-Facebook employee says products harm children, Fuel division


By MYBRANDBOOK


Ex-Facebook employee says products harm children, Fuel division

Facebook’s former data scientist Frances Haugen testified before the US Congress that the social media platform’s products harm children and fuel schism in the states but refuse to requisite changes as they prefer profits over safety.

 

Haugen has astounded the lawmakers and the public by disclosing the company’s awareness of indisputable harm to some teens from Instagram and her allegations of falsity in its fight against hate and misinformation.

 

She also has filed complaints with federal authorities alleging that Facebook's own research shows that it increases hate, misinformation and political agitation, but the company hides what it knows.

 

"The company's leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won't make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people,” she says in her written testimony prepared for the hearing. "Congressional action is needed. They won't solve this crisis without your help."

 

One internal study quoted that 13.5% of teen girls saying Instagram makes thoughts of suicide worse and 17% of teen girls saying it makes eating disorders worse.

 

Haugen also claimed that Facebook prematurely turned off safeguards to baffle misinformation and incitement to violence after the US election, that contributed to the aftermath in the US capitol.

 

Facebook persisted that Haugen's allegations are misleading and insists there is no evidence to support the premise that it is the primary cause of social polarization.

 

"Even with the most sophisticated technology, which I believe we deploy, even with the tens of thousands of people that we employ to try and maintain safety and integrity on our platform, we're never going to be absolutely on top of this 100 per cent of the time," Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president of policy and public affairs, said Sunday on CNN's Reliable Sources.

 

That's because of the "instantaneous and spontaneous form of communication" on Facebook, Clegg said, adding, "I think we do more than any reasonable person can expect to."

 



 

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