WASHINGTON :Former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen will urge the U.S. Congress on Tuesday to regulate the social media giant, which she plans to liken to tobacco companies that for decades denied that smoking damaged health, according to prepared testimony seen by Reuters.
Haugen, who worked as a product manager on Facebook's civic misinformation team, appeared on Sunday on the CBS television program"60 Minutes." She revealed her identity as the whistleblower who provided documents used in a Wall Street Journal investigation and a Senate hearing on Instagram's harm to teen girls.
The Journal's stories, based on Facebook internal presentations and emails, showed the company contributed to increased polarization online when it made changes to its content algorithm; failed to take steps to reduce vaccine hesitancy; and was aware that Instagram harmed mental health of teenage girls.