(Reuters) – A deeper investigation into Facebook’s lack of controls to stop misinformation and abuse in languages apart from English is probably going to depart individuals “much more shocked” concerning the potential harms attributable to the social media agency, whistleblower Frances Haugen informed Reuters.
Haugen, a former product supervisor at Meta Platforms Inc’s Facebook, spoke on the Reuters Next convention on Friday.
She left the corporate in May with 1000’s of inner paperwork which she leaked to the Wall Street Journal. That led to a collection of articles in September detailing how the corporate knew its apps helped unfold divisive content material and harmed the psychological well being of some younger customers.
Facebook additionally knew it had too few staff with the required language expertise to establish objectionable posts from customers in numerous creating nations, in accordance to the inner paperwork and Reuters interviews with former staff.
People who use the platform in languages apart from English are utilizing a “uncooked, harmful model of Facebook,” Haugen stated.
Facebook has persistently stated it disagrees with Haugen’s characterization of the inner analysis and that it’s pleased with the work it has carried out to cease abuse on the platform.
Haugen stated the corporate ought to be required to disclose which languages are supported by its tech security techniques, in any other case “Facebook will do … the naked minimal to decrease PR danger,” she stated.
The inner Facebook paperwork made public by Haugen have additionally raised recent considerations about the way it might have failed to take actions to stop the unfold of deceptive data.
Haugen stated the social media firm knew it may introduce “strategic friction” to make customers decelerate earlier than resharing posts, similar to requiring customers to click on a hyperlink earlier than they have been ready to share the content material. But she stated the corporate prevented taking such actions so as to protect revenue.
Such measures to immediate customers to rethink sharing sure content material might be useful on condition that permitting tech platforms or governments to decide what data is true poses many dangers, in accordance to web and authorized specialists who spoke throughout a separate panel on the Reuters Next convention on Friday.
“In regulating speech, you are handing states the ability to manipulate speech for their very own functions,” stated David Greene, civil liberties director on the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
The paperwork made public by Haugen have led to a collection of U.S. congressional hearings. Adam Mosseri, head of Meta Platforms’ Instagram app, will testify subsequent week on the app’s impact on younger individuals.
Asked what she would say to Mosseri given the chance, Haugen stated she would query why the corporate has not launched extra of its inner analysis.
“We have proof now that Facebook has identified for years that it was harming youngsters,” she stated. “How are we supposed to belief you going ahead?”
(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
