Facebook whistleblower provides explosive testimony before Senate subcommittee
Former manager claims social media platform hid internal research and data from users and the government - NBC's Jay Gray reports
WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC News) - A whistleblower on Tuesday shared volumes of internal data from internet giant Facebook, and urge lawmakers to step in and stop the company from, in her words, putting profit over the safety of those who use its platforms.
Behind the pictures and posts there is, according to an insider, a calculated and very real risk.
"Facebook's products harm children, stoke division, weaken our democracy and much more."
That statement from Frances Haugen, a former Facebook project manager, now a whistleblower.
"Facebook has repeatedly misled the public about what its own research reveals," Haugen said.
Sharing some of that internal research and data with Congress, Haugen accuses the internet giant of allowing, and at times even amplifying, misinformation, hate speech, violence, and graphic content. She clams some of it targeted underaged users, and used harmful and "addictive" algorithms.
"We spend more time on their platform, they make more money," she said.
The company argues it's not profits, but privacy laws that prevent sharing certain information. Executives stress, they are working to make their platforms more transparent.
"We are going to launch supervisory tools for parents so that they can see and have greater visibility into what their kids are doing," said Antigone Davis, the Global Head of Safety for Facebook.
Senator Ed Markey, (D-Mass.), said that's not enough. Markey delivered this direct message to Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerburg:
"Your time of invading our privacy, promoting toxic content, and preying on children and teens is over."
Several lawmakers are now working on internet safety legislation. They say providers are unable, and unwilling, to regulate themselves.
It's been a rough two days for Facebook. On Tuesday, billions of users were unable to use the company's three platforms during a global outage that lasted for several hours.
