Washington: Frances Haugen, a whistleblower has accused Facebook of putting profit before people and their health as she said that the products harm the mental health of some young users, stoke divisions and weaken democracy.
During a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing, Haugen, who used to work as the lead product manager for Facebook’s civic misinformation team, called for transparency about how Facebook entices users to keep scrolling, creating ample opportunity for advertisers to reach them.
She said, “Facebook is choosing to grow at all costs and it is focusing on profits are being bought with our safety.”
Following this, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg rejected the allegations and said that they prioritise profit over safety and wellbeing is “just not true”.
He said that they deeply care about issues like safety, wellbeing and mental health. “It is difficult to see coverage that misrepresents our work and our motives. At the most basic level, I think most of us just don’t recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted,” Zuckerberg wrote in note to Facebook employees that he publicly posted on his Facebook page.