Yesterday's Senate hearing with Frances Haugen, a Facebook whistleblower, revealed that Facebook prioritizes revenue over the well being of its users.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, would like to tell you that this is all completely, absolutely, totally false. He's also using the oldest argument available.
Zuckerberg posted a long post late Tuesday that addressed the hearing and media coverage. He believes this "misrepresents Facebook's work" and motives.
"At the core of these accusations is the idea that profit has been prioritized over safety and well-being. He wrote that it was simply not true. He then refuted many of the points Haugen made during hearings by essentially repeating the same argument: How can Facebook do bad things with all these programs that are supposed to protect the well being of its users?
"For instance, the Meaningful Social Interactions (MSI) change to News Feed has been questioned. We made this change knowing that it would result in fewer viral videos and more content coming from family and friends. However, research showed it to be the best thing for people's health. What would a company that is more concerned with profits than people do? Zuckerberg wrote.
This argument has a problem. It is possible to create many well-intentioned and sound programs, but then abuse them or ignore certain of their findings. In fact, this is exactly what Haugen stated in her testimony. According to The Wall Street Journal's recent investigation, the Meaningful Social Interactions (MSI) change Zuckerberg mentioned is a tool that measures how Facebook users interacts with content. Contrary to Zuckerberg's claims, Haugen stated that Facebook's reliance upon MSI caused more polarization on the platform and misinformation to spread. According to the WSJ's recent investigation, Facebook's internal research did not show that the MSI update to the News Feed improved the well-being and health of its users.
Zuckerberg stated that Facebook deliberately pushes content that angers people is "deeply absurd."
Advertisers tell us that they don't want ads with harmful or offensive content. We make money off ads. He wrote that he doesn't know of any tech company that aims to make people mad or depressed.
Zuckerberg addressed the topic of Instagram Kids, which was recently closed. He also said that Instagram "constantly" uses its research in order to avoid negative experiences for young people.
While Zuckerberg's arguments are valid, we don't have any idea of what Facebook does internally to protect its users' well-being. The company doesn't provide us with all data. Information that is available is derived from internal documents leaked and whistleblowers like Haugen. It often leads to different conclusions than what Facebook is offering us. If the company was more transparent about its activities behind closed doors, it would be easier to believe Zuckerberg.
Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, shifts some blame towards the end of his post to other companies. He believes that these companies aren't doing enough research on the effects they have on users. He wrote, "Even though it may be easier for us follow that path. We're going to continue doing research because it is the right thing to do."
Zuckerberg also points out that private companies should not be allowed to make these decisions independently. Instead, they should have their operations regulated by the governments of the countries where they are located. This is a common argument Facebook uses, such as when it defends its acceptance of lies in political ads.
Although Zuckerberg's post was a bit more detailed than usual, the core issues remain the same: Facebook is very secretive about many aspects of its platform and when documents are leaked, they don't paint a good picture of the company. It seems that Facebook is not making any real changes despite all the talk of "industry-leading research" in identifying problems and "delivering experiences to improve people's lives."
