“They have put their astronomical profits before people”: Facebook whistleblower slams big tech

A former Facebook employee has slammed the social media company during a US hearing, saying the organisation “harms children, stokes division and weakens democracy”

Frances Haugen is the former product manager now turned whistleblower, and has appeared at a hearing on Capitol Hill.

Facebook has hit back at the claims, saying Haugen was speaking about the areas of the company in which she has no knowledge about.

This comes as scrutiny around the company’s operations and dealings grows… with many pushing for further regulation.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who were conducting the hearing were united in the need for change at the organisation.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal says this moment is the very definition of a bombshell.

Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn believes the social media giant “is not interested in making significant changes to improve kids’ safety on their platforms at least not when that would result in losing eyeballs on posts or decreasing their ad revenues.”

This all follows Haugen appearing on an episode of 60 minutes saying that Facebook continuously chooses profit over the mental health of its users.

At the hearing, Haugen also criticised the leadership of the company’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, saying no one is currently holding him accountable except for himself.