Whistleblower testifies Facebook chooses profit over safety, calls for 'congressional action'

While accusing the giant social network of pursuing profits over safety, a former Facebook data scientist told U.S. senators on Tuesday that she believes stricter government oversight could alleviate the dangers the company poses, from harming children to inciting political violence and fuelling misinformation.

Frances Haugen, testifying before the Senate commerce subcommittee on consumer protection, presented a wide-ranging condemnation of Facebook.

She accused the company of failing to make changes to Instagram after internal research showed apparent harm to some teens and being dishonest in its public fight against hate and misinformation.

Haugen's accusations were buttressed by tens of thousands of pages of internal research documents she secretly copied before leaving her job in the company's civic integrity unit.

But she also offered thoughtful ideas about how Facebook's social media platforms could be made safer. 

She laid responsibility for the company's profits-over-safety strategy right at the top, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg, but she also expressed empathy for Facebook's dilemma.

Haugen, who says she joined the company in 2019 because "Facebook has the potential to bring out the best in us," said she didn't leak internal documents to a newspaper and then come before Congress in order to destroy the company or call for its breakup, as many consumer advocates and lawmakers of both parties have called for.