Former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen, the whistleblower behind a major leak of internal company documents, is set to testify before US lawmakers for the first time on Tuesday.
Haugen publicly revealed herself to be the Facebook whistleblower during an interview that the CBS television program 60 Minutes aired on Sunday. The 37-year-old gathered thousands of pages of documents and communications, some of which The Wall Street Journal used to publish a series of stories about how Facebook is aware of the harm the company’s platform can inflict, including on the mental health of teenagers.
«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,» Haugen said during the 60 Minutes interview. She worked on Facebook’s efforts to combat election interference and misinformation for nearly two years before leaving the social network in May.
Now lawmakers are trying to learn more from Haugen about what type of regulation could help keep social networks such as Facebook more accountable. The Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security is holding a hearing, titled «Protecting Kids Online: Testimony from a Facebook Whistleblower.» Tuesday’s hearing comes less than a week after Facebook’s head of safety, Antigone Davis, appeared before Congress. Facebook says The Wall Street Journal mischaracterized its research, noting that its platform also has benefits such as helping people keep in touch with family and friends. The company, which suffered a massive outage on Monday, has been plagued by numerous scandals including about data privacy.
Here’s what you need to know:
When
The hearing begins Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT.
Where
You can watch the hearing live on the subcommittee’s website or on CNET’s YouTube channel.
What to expect
US lawmakers will likely press the whistleblower for more details about what she learned while working for Facebook and other tech companies. Before joining Facebook, Haugen worked for Google, Yelp and Pinterest.
«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,» tweeted Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who chairs the Senate subcommittee hosting the hearing.
Lawmakers are trying to gather more information, including from companies outside of Facebook, as they weigh what type of regulation to pass.
Last week, Blumenthal, along with Democrats Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Rep. Kathy Castor of Florida, reintroduced the Kids Internet Design and Safety Act. The bill would ban features such as «likes» and follower counts for users under the age of 16 years old. The legislation also addresses other issues such as manipulative marketing and the amplification of harmful content.
