Facebook Whistleblower Goes Public, Says Facebook Prioritizes Profits Over Safety

Isabella James, Tech Times 03 October 2021, 11:10 pm

The Facebook whistleblower who leaked numerous internal documents to The Wall Street Journal that led to the bombshell report about Instagram's effects on the mental health of teens has gone public.

Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager, appeared on the TV show "60 Minutes" and alleged that the social media company prioritizes profit over safety.

Haugen is set to testify on Tuesday in the hearing on the impact of Facebook on the younger users that is being conducted by Congress.

Facebook Whistleblower Goes Public

The Facebook whistleblower who has provided the company's internal documents to journalists and other groups, including The Wall Street Journal, has gone public on Sunday.

Frances Haugen, who was previously known by the alias "Sean," appeared on "60 Minutes" and made more allegations against the company she previously worked for.

A report by The New York Times describes Haugen as a "product manager who worked for nearly two years on the civic misinformation team at the social network before leaving in May."

During her "60 Minutes" appearance, the Facebook whistleblower said, as quoted in a report by CNN, that what she saw at "Facebook over and over again was there were conflicts of interest between what was good for the public and what was good for Facebook, and Facebook over and over again chose to optimize for its own interests, like making more money."

Per The New York Times report, Haugen has already spoken to lawmakers, including Senators Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn, and has already provided them with some of Facebook's internal documents.

She is also set to testify in Congress on Tuesday in the hearing on the impact of Facebook on its younger users.

The Wall Street Journal's Report on Instagram

France Haugen was the one who provided the internal documents used in The Wall Street Journal's report titled "Facebook Knows Instagram is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show."

The report of The Wall Street Journal "highlighted specific findings from the document as evidence of a broader mental health problem on the app - most notably the finding that 'thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse,'" per The Verge.

The report has caused a massive amount of backlash and criticisms from lawmakers, other groups, and the public. Facebook has since released the internal documents referred to in The Wall Street Journal's report.

This is not the first time that Instagram has been called out for its negative effects on younger users. A 2017 study called Instagram the worst social media platform for young users as far as their mental health is concerned.

Facebook Pushes Back Against WSJ, Whistleblower

Facebook has pushed back against both The Wall Street Journal and Frances Haugen.

A post written by Facebook's Vice President and Head of Research, Pratiti Raychoudhury, published on the Facebook Newsroom website, said that The Wall Street Journal's report "is simply not accurate that this research demonstrates Instagram is 'toxic' for teen girls."

As for Frances Haugen, The New York Times reports that Nick Clegg, the vice president for policy and global affairs of the social media company, sent out a memo to employees on Friday that called Haugen's allegations "misleading."

Also Read: Groups Call Out Facebook to Drop 'Image-obsessed' Instagram Plans for Children

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Written by Isabella James