Frances Haugan, a former Facebook employee was working in the tech giant as a product manager. She left her job at the tech giant in May 2021. Haugen, however did not just left the company, but also took alongside her some sensitive internal documents.
These documents brought forward that Facebook knew that its app harms young users. They also brought forward just about how Facebook may have failed to prevent the spread of misleading content on its website. These documents since then have surrounded the tech giant into a swarm of issues.
Haugen on Dec 1, 2021, attended a conference about Facebook's practices on user information leakage. She also answered a number of questions that raised many eyebrows.
People were shocked and alarmed when a series of articles came in the past few months. These articles explained how divisive and questionable information is spread through Facebook and its apps. The information spread through their apps drags its young users into mental health problem.
Haugan in the conference said that those users who are using Facebook in languages other than the English language are putting their sensitive information at massive risk. Interviews and leaked documents in the past have proven that Facebook only has a few employees with necessary language skills other than English to identify offensive posts from the user of developing countries thus further strengthening Haugan’s statement.
Facebook on the other hand have continuously disagreed with Haugan's statement. The tech giant says that they are proud to work to stop abuse on all of their social media platforms.
Haugan, however denies Facebook’s claim of making their platform abuse free. She claims that while the platform’s tech safety systems do work with some languages, but it doesn’t with others. She added that the company should be required to reveal the languages which are supported by their safety systems.
Haugan, who is regarded as the ‘whistle blower’, while explaining her points said that Facebook knows about a system named ‘strategic friction’ which it could use to largely prevent these issues. This system is built to slow down users before they could share any content, this can include clicking a link or any such activity that slows the sharing process.
What this would do is that, it would give the user time for reconsidering what they are about to share. She however said that the tech giant would not implement this, since they want to preserve their profits.
H/T: Reuters. Photo: @SenBlumenthal / Twitter.
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These documents brought forward that Facebook knew that its app harms young users. They also brought forward just about how Facebook may have failed to prevent the spread of misleading content on its website. These documents since then have surrounded the tech giant into a swarm of issues.
Haugen on Dec 1, 2021, attended a conference about Facebook's practices on user information leakage. She also answered a number of questions that raised many eyebrows.
People were shocked and alarmed when a series of articles came in the past few months. These articles explained how divisive and questionable information is spread through Facebook and its apps. The information spread through their apps drags its young users into mental health problem.
Haugan in the conference said that those users who are using Facebook in languages other than the English language are putting their sensitive information at massive risk. Interviews and leaked documents in the past have proven that Facebook only has a few employees with necessary language skills other than English to identify offensive posts from the user of developing countries thus further strengthening Haugan’s statement.
Facebook on the other hand have continuously disagreed with Haugan's statement. The tech giant says that they are proud to work to stop abuse on all of their social media platforms.
Haugan, however denies Facebook’s claim of making their platform abuse free. She claims that while the platform’s tech safety systems do work with some languages, but it doesn’t with others. She added that the company should be required to reveal the languages which are supported by their safety systems.
Haugan, who is regarded as the ‘whistle blower’, while explaining her points said that Facebook knows about a system named ‘strategic friction’ which it could use to largely prevent these issues. This system is built to slow down users before they could share any content, this can include clicking a link or any such activity that slows the sharing process.
What this would do is that, it would give the user time for reconsidering what they are about to share. She however said that the tech giant would not implement this, since they want to preserve their profits.
Read next: Here’s What’s Deloitte Predicts for the Tech Industry in 2022