Facebook is facing a wave of violent boycotts: 10,000 leaked documents show that the company only cares about profits, ignoring the interests of users

According to Bloomberg, a former Facebook employee named Frances Haugen asserted that the social network prioritizes profits above the interests of users. Haugen is also the person who has just sent thousands of internal Facebook documents to US lawmakers and the WSJ.

Haugen made his first comments on a Sunday interview on “60 Minutes”. Haugen says she took about 10,000 documents from the company because Facebook’s violations were worse than what she saw at other social networks.

“You know what’s going on inside Facebook and you know no one else knows. I know what my future could be if I stayed at Facebook. One person after another has solved the problems. this topic inside Facebook and they give up”.

In addition to the documents Haugen shared, there are internal research slides showing the impact Facebook and Instagram have on the mental health of teenagers. Research shows that using Instagram makes things worse for young people who already have mental health problems like anxiety or body image problems.

Other documents sent by Haugen show internal discussions about the company’s efforts to moderate content, how VIP accounts are treated compared to regular accounts, and the spread of misinformation about the company’s content. Covid-19 on this social network.

Haugen also shared Facebook documents with the US lawmaker and will testify Tuesday before a senate committee as part of a hearing focused on “protecting children online” content.

Mental health of adolescents

At a hearing on the subject last week, lawmakers blamed Facebook, saying the company was focused on profits rather than making products safer for children. Senator Richard Blumenthal said that Facebook “chosen growth over the mental health and welfare of children, greed not stopping the effects on children”.

“We don’t have any faith in Facebook anymore,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn said.

Haugen started working at Facebook in June 2019 after leaving Google, Yelp and Pinterest. She received her MBA from Harvard University in 2011.

Facebook still insists on protecting itself. However, due to the impact of these reports, last week Facebook was forced to postpone its plan to launch a version of Instagram for children under 13 years old. The reason given by Facebook is to consult more experts, parents and legislators. Facebook confirmed that it has not completely canceled this plan.

“I still think building these experiences is the right thing to do. But we want more time to talk to parents and professionals so we can do the right thing,” according to Adam Mosseri – the head. Instagram.

The leaked documents have added to a series of headaches that Facebook has faced, causing the company to face countless difficulties.