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Thread: Going after Facebook

  1. #1
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    Default Going after Facebook

    Because they allow too much freedom of speech...

    Facebook's new whistleblower is renewing scrutiny of the social media giant
    October 4, 20217:09 AM ET

    JACLYN DIAZ

    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.

    Hours before Haugen's interview aired, 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.

    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.

    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. As part of a deal reached with the U.K. government, Facebook paid a £500,000 (about $643,000) fine.

    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.

    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."

    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.

    Haugen contacted state officials and the SEC
    Other regulatory agencies aren't waiting for Congress.

    In December 2020, the Federal Trade Commission filed an antitrust lawsuit against the company. In August, the commission amended that complaint to demand that the company sell Instagram and What'sApp.

    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.

    https://www.npr.org/2021/10/04/10429...nt?ft=nprml&f=

  2. #2
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    Youtube is another platform that is trying to censor certain videos but still allows other videos showing people being beaten and attacked for no reason. Yet they won't allow a video or channel showing how to clean or harvest a wild animal. Makes no sense to me whatsoever.
    Amendment II A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

    Quote Originally Posted by Highstrung View Post
    I like fishing topwater. Will one of you jot down some of this redneck ghetto slang and the definitions for those of us who weren't born with a plastic spoon in our mouths?

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chuck the Duck Slayer View Post
    Youtube is another platform that is trying to censor certain videos but still allows other videos showing people being beaten and attacked for no reason. Yet they won't allow a video or channel showing how to clean or harvest a wild animal. Makes no sense to me whatsoever.
    Google owns YouTube so I'd kinda expect it.

  4. #4
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    End result:

    Expect a .gov liaise (czar) to get all these social media giants to be "fair" and ensure the platform is being used to the "greater good".
    "Rivers and the inhabitants of the watery elements are for wise men to contemplate and for fools to pass by without consideration" -Izaak Walton

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