The former product manager at Facebook alleged that the company is fully aware of the negative impacts of its apps on users, especially the toxic impact of Instagram on young girls.
Frances Haugen, the Facebook whistleblower, testified before the commerce subcommittee of the US Senate where she urged the government to take strict action against the social media giant for potentially harmful impacts of its apps on users. Specifically mentioning the toxic impact of Facebook’s Instagram app on teen girls, the former product manager at Facebook who worked on the issues related to Civic integrity, faced questions from the subcommittee on what are the potential impacts of Instagram on the young users and whether Facebook know about these potentially damaging impacts or not.
Criticizing the company for its policies, Haugen said that Facebook is fully aware of the negative impacts of its apps on young users and more importantly, the organization also knows how to reduce these damaging impacts by making the necessary changes required on this front. However, the company won’t implement these changes because it will have a negative impact on their profitability in the long run. Haugen said that the products and apps offered by Facebook are harmful to children, create divisions in society, and weaken the democratic values of the country and hence, action must be initiated by the Senate against the company.
On Sunday night 60 Minutes, Haugen revealed her identity as a Facebook whistleblower. She, in the past, shared various documents with the Wall Street Journal and regulators which were published as a part of the investigation demonstrating that Facebook was fully aware of the problems caused by its apps including the misinformation and harmful impact on the users, especially the toxic impact of Instagram on the young girls.
