Facebook Targets Youth Despite Mental Health Harm, Whistleblower Testifies

Politico: What Congress Learned From The Facebook Whistleblower 
A whistleblower’s disclosures about Facebook’s impact on children may have finally given Congress something it has lacked: bipartisan resolve to tighten Washington’s grip on Silicon Valley. Lawmakers have said this kind of thing before. But Tuesday brought an unusual show of unanimous support across party lines as lawmakers linked arms to hear former Facebook employee Frances Haugen detail the ways in which she says the social media giant knowingly pushes and profits off products that harm children. (Levine, 10/5)

The Washington Post: Facebook Whistleblower Sheds Light On Social Media’s Harmful Effects 
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen on Tuesday told lawmakers that the company systematically and repeatedly prioritized profits over the safety of its users, painting a detailed picture of an organization where hunger to grow governed decisions, with little concern for the impact on society. ... She pointed to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg as the enforcer of this system, arguing that he controls the most important decisions made at the company. “Until the incentives change, Facebook will not change. Left alone, Facebook will continue to make choices that go against the common good, our common good,” she said. (Zakrewski, Lima, Dwoskin and Oremus, 10/5)

The New York Times: Facebook Senate Hearing: Teenage Girls And Social Media's Effect 
Annie Zhu got an Instagram account during her freshman year of high school. At first, she curated her profile carefully, showing off different outfits and looks. She followed body positivity and body neutrality accounts. But she still sometimes compared herself with others, and “it can make me feel bad,” she said. So when she recently listened to a podcast revealing how Facebook’s research concluded that Instagram, which it owns, was toxic for teenage girls, she said, the findings “didn’t surprise me at all.” (Woo, 10/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Who Is Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen? What To Know After Her Senate Testimony 
Frances Haugen, the former Facebook Inc. FB 2.06% employee who gathered documents that formed the foundation of The Wall Street Journal’s Facebook Files series showing its platforms are riddled with flaws that cause harm, appeared Tuesday before a Senate panel that is looking to toughen the law protecting children online. The Journal series, based in part on the documents as well as interviews with current and former employees, describes how the company’s rules favor elites; how its algorithms foster discord; and how drug cartels and human traffickers use its services openly. (Horwitz, 10/5)

Key points from the testimony —

NPR: 4 Takeaways From Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen's Testimony
Of particular concern to lawmakers on Tuesday was Instagram's impact on young children. Haugen has leaked one Facebook study that found that 13.5 percent of U.K. teen girls in one survey say their suicidal thoughts became more frequent. Another leaked study found 17% of teen girls say their eating disorders got worse after using Instagram. About 32% of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse, Facebook's researchers found, which was first reported by the Journal. (Allyn, 10/5)

The New York Times: The Key Takeaways From Frances Haugen’s Facebook Testimony 
At one point, Ms. Haugen suggested something even more radical: Increasing the minimum age for any person using social media to 17 years old from 13 years old. (Frankel, 10/5)

The Hill: Four Big Takeaways From A Tough Hearing For Facebook 
Witnesses at the last few congressional hearings focused on Facebook have fit into two categories: employees with vested interest in promoting the company’s interests or experts without insider knowledge of the social media giant’s operations. Haugen’s unique position as a recent former employee not speaking on behalf of the company was on full display during her testimony. Several times during Tuesday’s hearing she was able to give clear explanations of technical terms, like meaningful social interactions or engagement-based rankings, that have gotten muddled in the past. (Rodrigo and Klar, 10/5)

Mark Zuckerberg responds to the accusations —

Bloomberg: Facebook's Zuckerberg Responds To Whistleblower Claims On Profits Priority
Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg addressed a recent series of negative stories about the company for the first time by saying accusations that it puts profit over user safety are “just not true.” “It’s difficult to see coverage that misrepresents our work and our motives. At the most basic level, I think most of us just don’t recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted,” he wrote in a note to employees on Tuesday that he also posted publicly. It came shortly after whistle-blower Frances Haugen, a former employee, testified in a Senate hearing about her experience there and internal research she said showed the company prioritized profit while stoking division. Haugen appeared on “60 Minutes” Sunday night, saying Facebook routinely made decisions that put business interests ahead of user safety. (Wagner, 10/6)