Facebook Whistleblower Testifies to U.K. Lawmakers

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen told British lawmakers Monday that social media giants are "arguably" increasing their hatred for the Internet. In London's Parliamentary Commission testimony, a former Facebook employee reiterated what he said to the US Senator earlier this month. According to Haugen, media giants are agitating hatred and extremism on the Internet, and there is no incentive to change algorithms to encourage less disruptive content. She argued that  Facebook could result in even more intense anxiety around the world. Haugen focuses on the algorithm that Facebook developed to facilitate engagement between users, stating that it "prioritizes and enhances extreme content division and polarization."

Facebook did not respond to Haugen's statement on Monday. Earlier this month, Haugen spoke to the Senate committee saying the company was harmful. Facebook denied their claim. "The debate about deliberately distributing content that plagues people  for profit is very illogical," said Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg. Haugen's testimony comes on Monday when a coalition of new organizations begin posting articles about Facebook practices based on internal  documents  secretly copied and published by Haugen. 

Haugen is a former Facebook product manager who became a whistleblower. Talking to US lawmakers earlier this month, Haugen  argued that  federal regulators were needed to oversee large Internet companies like Facebook. The British Parliament is considering the creation of such a national regulatory agency under the online safety legislation. The law also provides that companies like Facebook will be fined up to 10% of  global sales for violating government guidelines. 4,444 representatives from Facebook and other social media companies will talk to British lawmakers on Thursday. Haugen will meet with European Union political decision makers in Brussels next month.