Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen (C) leaves Parliament in central London. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP via Getty Images)
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Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen’s testimony in the British Parliament has ended. Haugen raised concerns about the company’s focus on algorithms, its approach to misinformation, and moderating hate speech. He also reiterated his request to regulate the technology giant to achieve more transparency, which he already spoke about in his testimony before the US Congress.
Here is a summary of what Haugen told the British Parliament:
Facebook does not invest enough in content security systems for non-English languages
“Facebook says things like ‘we support 50 languages’, when in reality, most of those languages receive a small fraction of the security systems that English receives,” Haugen told British lawmakers. “UK English is different enough that it doesn’t surprise me that the security systems they developed primarily for American English are actually [infrautilizados] in the United Kingdom”.
The documents also indicate that the company, in many cases, has not adequately expanded staffing or added local language resources to protect people in those locations.
Facebook should not be allowed to “cheat” its Supervisory Board
“I hope the Oversight Board will seize this moment to stand up and demand a more transparent relationship,” Haugen said. “If Facebook can come in and actively mislead the Oversight Board – which is what it did – I don’t know what the purpose of the Oversight Board is.”
The Oversight Board resolves cases about controversial content that is left or removed, but these cases are just “the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to oversight on Facebook, said Suzanne Nossel, member of the Supervisory Board and CEO of PEN America.
The UK is leading the world in its efforts to regulate social media platforms through its Online Safety Bill
Haugen said he couldn’t imagine Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg “not paying attention” to the efforts.
While countries in the “Global South” “do not have the resources to rise up and save their own lives”, the UK has the opportunity to take a “world leading stance” with its bill, which aims to impose a duty social media sites be wary of their users, Haugen added.
Facebook views security as a cost center rather than a growth center
“I think there is a view within the company that security is a cost center, not a growth center, which, in my opinion, is a very short-term thinking. Because Facebook’s own research has shown that when people have worse experiences of integrity on the site, they are less likely to stay, “he said Monday.
He urged British lawmakers to put a regulation in place, saying it was for the sake of the company’s long-term growth.
“I think regulation could be really good for Facebook’s long-term success. Because it would force Facebook to go back to a place where it is more pleasant to be on Facebook,” he said.
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