McGill’s Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy has announced that Facebook (now Meta) whistleblower, Frances Haugen, is joining as Senior-Fellow-in-Residence where she will support its research and public engagement on online safety policy, youth digital rights, and data transparency.
In 2021 Haugen released thousands of internal Facebook documents revealing the company knew of the harms caused by their products – from negatively impacting youth mental health to enabling the spread of dangerous misinformation – and chose profit over safety.
“There is a real opportunity in Canada to responsibly hold platforms to account for users’ safety,” says Haugen.
Haugen’s disclosures have informed a widespread debate about the need for democratic governments to regulate social media platforms, and she has become a global proponent for policies to make technology companies more accountable and transparent.
“Frances Haugen is committed to speaking truth to power, and has worked tirelessly to communicate the challenges and opportunities for digital governance around the world,” says Founding Director and Beaverbrook Chair in Media, Ethics and Communication, Taylor Owen. “Canada has been slow to act when it comes to online safety, but we now have a chance to learn from the experiences of others and get it right. There are few people in the world better positioned to help us than Frances.”
Haugen joins the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy at a crucial time when Canada is...
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