Associate Professor of Media and Communication Jan Fernback discusses the Facebook whistleblower’s testimony and its implications for the company.
Since Facebook exploded on to the social media scene back in the early aughts, it has seen exponential growth. The company has gone from a small startup operated in a college dorm room by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, to becoming a major conglomerate that’s often criticized for violating user’s privacy, political manipulation and mass surveillance.
Recently, former Facebook product manager turned whistle-blower, Frances Haugen, testified before Congress about the company’s harms, alleging that the company places profits above its users’ well-being.
We spoke with Jan Fernback, an associate professor in the Klein College of Media and Communication, about the Facebook whistleblower’s testimony and its implications for the company.
Temple Now: What are the most serious allegations against Facebook made by the whistleblower, in your opinion?
Jan Fernback: The allegations against Facebook are all serious, because collectively they represent a model of poor citizenship. Facebook has been exemplifying that model of poor citizenship for years as evidenced by its continued prioritization of profits over public safety, its record of numerous privacy violations, its attempt to monetize children’s attention without concern for their mental health or safety, its refusal to punish bad actors publishing false or dangerous...
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