Another Facebook whistleblower has made new allegations about the business practices of the social media platform. The Washington Post first reported the story. This person was a former member on Facebook's integrity team. He claims that the company prioritizes profits over efforts to combat hate speech.
The affidavit was provided by The Verge with copies. The whistleblower claims, among other things that a former Facebook communications officer dismissed concerns about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections. This claim was unwittingly made by Facebook. According to the affidavit Tucker Bounds stated that the situation would be a flash-in-the pan. Some legislators might get pissed. In a few weeks, they'll move on to another topic. We are doing fine while we print money in the basement.
The whistleblower claimed that there were differences between Facebook's public statements and its internal decision-making in certain areas. They claim that the Internet.org project was designed to connect people in developing countries. The internal messaging stated that Facebook wanted to be the only source of news and had to establish an impassible foothold.
Many of the claims made by the whistleblower who submitted affidavits at the Securities and Exchange Commission echo Frances Haugen's concerns. Haugen, a former employee of Facebook, provided internal documents to Wall Street Journal in order to provide a series on the platform. The most notable finding was an internal investigation that revealed Facebook knew its Instagram platform was dangerous for teens.
Haugen, who testified before Congress October 5th, said that Facebook had misled the public over what its own research revealed about safety of children and how its artificial intelligence systems play a role in spreading extremist and divisive messages.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. The company said that it was dangerous to base an entire story on one source, making many claims and not having any corroboration.
