Facebook whistleblower to brief company’s Oversight Board on allegations

Former Facebook employee Frances Haugen, who testified in front of Congress last week that the tech company placed profits ahead of children’s safety, said on Monday that she has agreed to speak with the Facebook Oversight Board.

“I have accepted the invitation to brief the Facebook Oversight Board about what I learned while working there. Facebook has lied to the board repeatedly, and I am looking forward to sharing the truth with them,” Haugen tweeted.

I have accepted the invitation to brief the Facebook Oversight Board about what I learned while working there. Facebook has lied to the board repeatedly, and I am looking forward to sharing the truth with them.

— Frances Haugen (@FrancesHaugen) October 11, 2021

Last week, Haugen testified in front of the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security. She said Facebook was aware of how its products were harming children and teens, but still sought to profit off of their engagement, doubling down on targeting the younger demographic.

“The damage to self-interest and self-worth inflicted by Facebook today will haunt a generation. Feelings of inadequacy and insecurity, rejection and self hatred, will impact this generation for years to come. Our children are the ones who are victims,” Haugen told the committee.

“Teens today looking at themselves in the mirror feel doubt and insecurity. Mark Zuckerberg ought to be looking at himself in the mirror today,” she said. “And yet rather than taking responsibility and showing leadership, Mr. Zuckerberg is going sailing. His new modus operandi: no apologies, no admission, no action, nothing to see here.”

The Facebook Oversight Board is an 11-member group put together in 2020 to set standards on “what is and is not acceptable to share” on the platform and has a staff independent from Facebook. One major decision that the organization made earlier this year was to uphold former President Trump’s ban from the platform.

Facebook announced in June that Trump would not be allowed back on the platform until at least 2023.

Though the board and Facebook have stressed that it is independent from the tech company, the organization is funded through a $130 million trust. According to the board’s charter, the decisions that the members make are binding, unless implementation of its decisions are found to be in violation of the law.