https://www.npr.org/2021/10/04/1042921981/facebook-whistleblower-renewing-scrutiny-of-social-media-giant

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Facebook whistleblower renews scrutiny of the social media giant
Facebook could be facing its biggest scandal yet as a former employee
comes forward to expose some of the company's secrets.

Technology

Facebook's new whistleblower is renewing scrutiny of the social media
giant

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October 4, 20217:09 AM ET

Jaclyn Diaz

Facebook's new whistleblower is renewing scrutiny of the social media
giant

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Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen talks with CBS' Scott Pelley on
a 60 Minutes episode that aired Sunday. Robert Fortunato/CBS News via
AP hide caption

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Robert Fortunato/CBS News via AP

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen talks with CBS' Scott Pelley on
a 60 Minutes episode that aired Sunday.

Robert Fortunato/CBS News via AP

A data scientist named Frances Haugen has revealed herself to be the
whistleblower behind a massive exposure of the inner workings at
Facebook.

Prior to appearing on 60 Minutes on Sunday, Haugen, a former employee
at the social media giant, kept her identity a secret after sharing
thousands of pages of internal Facebook documents to the media and
federal law enforcement.

Haugen's planned testimony this week, as well as the information she
shared so far, suggests the company deceived the public and its
investors about its ability to deal with hate speech and
misinformation on its platform.

"Facebook over and over again has shown it chooses profit over
safety," she said during the interview on Sunday.

Haugen's document dump, her testimony scheduled in front of Congress
this week, and an ongoing investigative reporting series into the
company are potentially pushing Facebook into its biggest crisis yet.
The negative spotlight also comes as Republicans and Democrats on
Capitol Hill are increasingly scrutinizing Facebook's actions.

The Facebook Files reveals major issues

Facebook issued a lengthy statement from director of policy
communications Lena Pietsch titled "Missing Facts from Tonight's 60
Minutes Segment."

She pointed to Facebook's investment to monitor for harmful content;
disputed the way Facebook's own research on teenagers' mental health
has been reported; and rejected the claim that the social network has
furthered political polarization.

Recent reporting by The Wall Street Journal had already put Facebook
in the spotlight. Haugen shared thousands of Facebook documents with
the newspaper that went into the creation of the Facebook Files
series.

Business

'The Wall Street Journal' Takes A Deep Dive Into The Facebook Files

So far the newspaper has revealed how anti-COVID-19 vaccine
information flourished on Facebook. It also reported how separate
rules allegedly apply to celebrities and politicians on the site.
Facebook allowed VIP users to, for a time, avoid penalties for bad
behavior, according to the report.

Haugen has also detailed how she says Facebook quickly disbanded its
civic integrity team -- responsible for protecting the democratic
process and tackling misinformation -- after the 2020 U.S. election.
Shortly afterward came the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol,
in which organizers used Facebook to help plan.

"I don't trust that they're willing to actually invest what needs to
be invested to keep Facebook from being dangerous," Haugen told 60
Minutes.

Remember Cambridge Analytica?

Facebook started in CEO Mark Zuckerberg's Harvard dorm. Now it's
estimated to be worth $1 trillion. As it has grown, so too have its
controversies.

The company faced massive blowback from users, politicians and
regulators following the Cambridge Analytica debacle more than three
years ago.

A whistleblower named Christopher Wylie went public in 2018 exposing
how millions of Facebook users' personal data was accessed, without
the users' consent, by the U.K. firm Cambridge Analytica. The
now-defunct company used this information to attempt to influence
several elections around the world, including the U.K.'s Brexit vote
on leaving the European Union.

Three years later, Facebook, which has maintained no liability in the
Cambridge Analytica dealings, walked away from the entire episode
relatively unscathed.

Facebook paid a $5 billion penalty to the Federal Trade Commission to
resolve a sweeping investigation into its privacy practices prompted
by the scandal, as well as a PS500,000 (about $643,000) fine to the
U.K. government. But critics said the FTC fine, while the largest
privacy settlement in the agency's history, amounted to a slap on the
wrist, given that it equated to about a month of revenue for
Facebook.

In 2020, Facebook was criticized yet again for how it regulates
political ads and misinformation on its platform, but no regulatory
changes came of the criticism.

Lawmakers talk regulations

After the Haugen interview aired on 60 Minutes, Connecticut Sen.
Richard Blumenthal shared on Twitter, "Facebook's actions make clear
that we cannot trust it to police itself. We must consider stronger
oversight, effective protections for children, & tools for parents,
among the needed reforms."

[ap21273554]
Enlarge this image

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., (top left) speaks with Sen. Amy
Klobuchar, D-Minn., as Antigone Davis, Facebook's global head of
safety, testifies virtually before the Senate Commerce, Science and
Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety
and Data Security during a hearing on children's online safety and
mental health on Thursday in Washington. Patrick Semansky/AP hide
caption

toggle caption
Patrick Semansky/AP

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., (top left) speaks with Sen. Amy
Klobuchar, D-Minn., as Antigone Davis, Facebook's global head of
safety, testifies virtually before the Senate Commerce, Science and
Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety
and Data Security during a hearing on children's online safety and
mental health on Thursday in Washington.

Patrick Semansky/AP

For years, Congress has been stuck in an ongoing debate over how best
to regulate Big Tech -- even as Facebook says its welcomes updated
regulations.

In June, House lawmakers introduced sweeping antitrust reforms aimed
at Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. The House Judiciary Committee
approved the bills, but they have not been brought for a floor vote.

The scrutiny Facebook now faces could push lawmakers to act.

During a hearing last week, lawmakers examined allegations that
Facebook's own internal research showed its platforms are negatively
affecting the mental health of millions of mostly teenage girls.

"This is your company's reporting. You knew this was there. You knew
it was there, but you didn't do anything about it," said Sen. Marsha
Blackburn, R-Tenn., the subcommittee's ranking member, referring to
internal documents about the prevalence of sex trafficking on
Facebook.

Facebook has said the research was taken out of context.

1A

Facebook Paused The Development Of Instagram For Kids. Now What?

Haugen contacted state officials and the SEC

Other regulatory agencies aren't waiting for Congress.

Facebook is facing an antitrust lawsuit from the Federal Trade
Commission, which is demanding that the company sell or spin off
Instagram and What'sApp.

Federal Trade Commission Refiles Suit Accusing Facebook Of Illegal
Monopoly

Technology

Federal Trade Commission Refiles Suit Accusing Facebook Of Illegal
Monopoly

With these latest allegations, Facebook could soon be facing heat
from other regulators.

Haugen and her attorney John Tye shared that she has filed at least
eight complaints with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

These complaints focus on the prevalence of hate speech on Facebook,
misrepresentations about the site's role during the Capitol
insurrection, and the dangers children face on the site.

FILE - In this Aug. 5, 2017, file photo U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission building in Washington.
Enlarge this image
Andrew Harnik/AP
Andrew Harnik/AP

Tye, who spoke with NPR, said those allegations involve the
difference between what Facebook knew about its platform and what it
said publicly. He said misleading investors is a crime under U.S.
securities law.

Haugen's documents have also been shared with the state attorneys
general for California, Vermont, Tennessee, Massachusetts and
Nebraska, Tye told The New York Times.

It's unclear whether the SEC or those state attorneys general plan to
address Haugen's complaints.

Facebook whistleblower isn't protected from possible company
retaliation, experts say

Technology

Facebook whistleblower isn't protected from possible company
retaliation, experts say

Editor's note: Facebook is among NPR's financial supporters.

NPR's Bobby Allyn and Shannon Bond contributed to this report.

Correction Oct. 4, 2021

An earlier version of the web story said Facebook issued a statement
about the 60 Minutes segment before it aired. In fact, the statement
was issued after the segment aired. And the story stated that the
FTC's lawsuit against Facebook introduced a demand in August that the
company sell Instagram and What'sApp; in fact, the demand was part of
the lawsuit prior to that time.

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