Facebook fed Capitol riots, says whistleblower in ‘60 Minutes’ interview

[Paco Dennis]

"A data scientist who was revealed Sunday as the Facebook whistleblower says that whenever there was a conflict between the public good and what benefited the company, the social media giant would choose its own interests.

Frances Haugen was identified in a “60 Minutes” interview Sunday as the woman who anonymously filed complaints with federal law enforcement that the company’s own research shows how it magnifies hate and misinformation.

Haugen, who worked at Google and Pinterest before joining Facebook in 2019, said she had asked to work in an area of the company that fights misinformation, since she lost a friend to online conspiracy theories.

“Facebook, over and over again, has shown it chooses profit over safety,” she said. Haugen, who will testify before Congress this week, said she hopes that by coming forward the government will put regulations in place to govern the company’s activities."

3 minute read

https://www.syracuse.com/us-news/20...ys-whistleblower-in-60-minutes-interview.html

 

[WhatInThe]

Not surprising. And yes facebook and others will keep company priorities at the front of line. Never did facebook and never will.

https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-knows-more-about-you-than-cia/

Why help a company make your dossier for the cia or marketers.

 

[Irwin]

"A data scientist who was revealed Sunday as the Facebook whistleblower says that whenever there was a conflict between the public good and what benefited the company, the social media giant would choose its own interests.

Frances Haugen was identified in a “60 Minutes” interview Sunday as the woman who anonymously filed complaints with federal law enforcement that the company’s own research shows how it magnifies hate and misinformation.

Haugen, who worked at Google and Pinterest before joining Facebook in 2019, said she had asked to work in an area of the company that fights misinformation, since she lost a friend to online conspiracy theories.

“Facebook, over and over again, has shown it chooses profit over safety,” she said. Haugen, who will testify before Congress this week, said she hopes that by coming forward the government will put regulations in place to govern the company’s activities."

3 minute read

https://www.syracuse.com/us-news/20...ys-whistleblower-in-60-minutes-interview.html

Yeah, I watched that 60 Minutes episode. Facebook is a publicly traded private company that exists to generate profits. They are beholden to shareholders. They don't have any legal responsibility to do what's best for society.

Some people seem to want to see them regulated as a utility, but considering the Internet isn't regulated as a utility, doing so for Facebook doesn't make sense. That said, I believe the Internet most definitely should be regulated as a utility.