
Facebook whistleblower behind major leak will testify in Europe
Former Facebook employee Frances Haugen testified at the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security Hearing on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, at the Russell Building. The hearing was entitled “Children’s Online Safety- Facebook whistleblower”.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
LONDON – The Facebook whistleblower who leaked the company’s internal research showing that Instagram may be harmful to teenagers will testify in Europe.
According to a statement released on Monday, Frances Haugen is now preparing to testify to lawmakers in the British Parliament after she attended Parliament.
The statement stated that she will attend a parliamentary committee on October 25, which is her first testimony in Europe.
Former Facebook product manager Haugen told a Senate panel last week that the company’s leadership puts “profits first” and called on lawmakers to intervene.
Earlier, the whistleblower leaked Facebook’s internal research to the Wall Street Journal, and the company found that its Instagram application was harmful to girls.
Last weekend, Facebook’s chief spokesperson Nick Clegg said that the social media company will introduce new features to keep teenagers away from harmful content and encourage users to spend a long time “rest” on Instagram.
Damian Collins (Damian Collins), a member of the British Parliament and chair of the Government’s Joint Committee on Online Security Act, said: “Companies like Facebook need greater transparency in the decisions they make when weighing user safety for user participation.”
The British government is introducing new legislation to impose a duty of care on digital giants to ensure that they monitor and act on illegal or harmful materials online. Failure to do so may result in fines of up to 10% of global annual revenue or 18 million pounds (24 million U.S. dollars), whichever is higher.
At the same time, EU legislators also invited Haugen to attend the science and technology whistleblower hearing on November 8, but it is not clear whether she has accepted their request.
Anna Cavazzini, Chairman of the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, said in a statement on Monday: “Informers like Francis Hogan have shown that there is an urgent need to develop an online world for the benefit of users. Democratic rules.”
“Her revelations exposed the inherent conflict between the platform’s business model and the interests of users.”
The EU has its own plan to regulate large technology companies. The group is working to introduce two landmark laws-the “Digital Services Law” and the “Digital Market Law”-aimed at eliminating toxic content and increasing competition.
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