Frances Haugen shook the public’s perceptions of social media when she anonymously filed complaints with federal law enforcement about Facebook Inc., now known as Meta Platforms, Inc. Haugen worked as a product manager at Facebook before quitting in May due to her concern with the company’s power, motives, and harm imposed on society.
In October, Haugen disclosed tens of thousands of pages of internal documents to the Wall Street Journal that she believed to prove Facebook knew about and chose to ignore the harm their platforms cause. She has testified before Congress twice, most recently on December 1.
A specific issue Haugen has with Meta is its use of algorithms that drive popular features, like the main feeds in Facebook and Instagram, which impact people’s decisions and mental health. Facebook and Instagram users are starting to recognize the repetition of ads and genres of content in their feeds. This repetition is no coincidence, as it is the work of algorithms. Algorithms, or simple sets of instructions or logistics, are taken to an extreme at Meta, with billions of dollars spent to make even more money for the company. Meta’s advertising revenues were at an all-time high in 2020, at $84 billion. While Meta’s algorithms have proved successful for the company financially, they have also produced the exact outcomes Meta seems to want.
One of the many ways Haugen saw Meta’s apparent neglect for its users’ well-being was its unwillingness to take steps which would...
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