Whistleblower Frances Haugen calls Facebook danger to children and democracy
She said it knows its algorithms are harmful but puts "profits before people."
A Senate subcommittee on Tuesday heard from a whistleblower who claims Facebook manipulated content it knew was harmful to young users, a day after the social media giant experienced an apparently unrelated massive outage.
Frances Haugen, who revealed her identity during a Sunday interview on CBS' "60 Minutes," has been cooperating with a Senate Commerce subcommittee as part of its ongoing efforts to assess potential regulation of the platform. Haugen told lawmakers on Tuesday about documentation she said show the company -- and CEO Mark Zuckerberg -- intentionally ignored proof of its potentially harmful impact on users.
Facebook has publicly disputed Haugen's claims.
Headlines:
- Facebook responds to hearing in statement
- Hearing adjourns with plea for more whistleblowers to speak out
- Blackburn blasts Facebook spokesperson, challenges him to testify
- Whistleblower blasts Facebooks for lack of transparency when 'lives are on the line'
- Lawmakers raise having 2nd hearing on Haugen's national security concerns
Blumenthal promises 'riveting testimony'
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who chairs the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security, promised "riveting" testimony that would prove to be a "breakthrough moment" ahead of Tuesday's hearing.
"This whistleblower is one gutsy, smart, strong woman who is speaking truth to the nation about how Facebook is dragging children into dark places and deepening their insecurities with online bullying, self-injuries, suicide, eating disorders, and I think she will tell us what it's like to see the top Facebook executives make decisions that profit Facebook at the expense of children's safety, how they put children’s safety above -- below profit-making motive," Blumenthal told reporters Monday evening.
Blumenthal said the documents Haugen has provided show a "searing indictment of the top corporate management of Facebook ignoring their own study, their own surveys and research that showed how they were putting kids in danger, just so they could profit more."
He also alleged Facebook has been "utterly unresponsive" to the committee's requests to disclose their own studies and said he hopes Haugen coming forward will encourage other whistleblowers.
Whistleblower to testify before Senate panel
Frances Haugen, a former Facebook data scientist turned whistleblower, is scheduled to testify before the Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee at 10 a.m. on Facebook and Instagram’s impacts on young users in a hearing entitled, "Protecting Kids Online: Testimony from a Facebook Whistleblower. "
Beyond alleging Facebook’s knowledge of its platforms’ negative impact on teenagers and young girls, Haugen has reportedly come forward with documents showing the social media giant has also ignored but is aware of how hate speech and misinformation are emphasized on their sites.
Haugen, who revealed her identity during a Sunday interview on CBS' "60 Minutes" has been cooperating with the offices of Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., chair and ranking member of the Senate committee that is assessing potential regulations for the social media giant.
Facebook responds to hearing in statement
Facebook director of policy communications Lena Pietsch released a statement following whistleblower Frances Haugen's testimony, attempting to discredit her knowledge of the company.
"Today, a Senate Commerce subcommittee held a hearing with a former product manager at Facebook who worked for the company for less than two years, had no direct reports, never attended a decision-point meeting with C-level executives – and testified more than six times to not working on the subject matter in question. We don’t agree with her characterization of the many issues she testified about," Pietsch wrote.
"Despite all this, we agree on one thing; it’s time to begin to create standard rules for the internet. It’s been 25 years since the rules for the internet have been updated, and instead of expecting the industry to make societal decisions that belong to legislators, it is time for Congress to act," the statement finished.
Multiple times during the hearing, lawmakers invited Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and communications spokespersons to appear before Congress and testify themselves.
Zuckerberg has remained silent on Haugen's allegations for days, and multiple senators mocked the billionaire over recent social media posts of him out sailing instead.
-ABC News' Zunaira Zaki