Facebook Whistleblowing Escalates... Discussed by External Oversight Committee

(Photo by Reuters)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The Facebook Oversight Board has decided to discuss the whistleblower allegations that Facebook's algorithm generates extreme emotions and division.

The Oversight Board, which operates independently within Facebook, plans to summon whistleblower Frances Haugen within weeks to hear her testimony, according to reports by CNN and others on the 11th (local time).

In a statement released that day, the Facebook Oversight Board said, "We have requested Ms. Haugen to testify before the board regarding the serious claims she raised against Facebook, and she has accepted."

The board stated, "We plan to discuss Ms. Haugen's experiences and gather information through case discussions she holds to enhance transparency and accountability."

Through an upcoming meeting, the Facebook Oversight Board intends to listen to and discuss the legitimacy of the controversies surrounding Facebook's unethical business practices revealed in the 'Facebook Files' and the claims raised during this process.

Haugen said on Twitter that day, "I will go to the Oversight Board and testify about everything I learned while working there."

Haugen, who worked as a product manager at Facebook, recently exposed internal documents containing Facebook's unethical business practices called the 'Facebook Files' to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and revealed her identity for the first time on CBS.

She exposed that Facebook deliberately did not delete racist remarks by celebrities or fake news posts and concealed research findings that Instagram, a Facebook subsidiary, could be harmful by increasing suicide rates among teenagers.

She particularly pointed to Facebook's content recommendation algorithm, which drives user reactions, as the main culprit spreading fake news, criticizing, "Facebook has 100% control over its algorithm."

In response, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally denied the allegations, stating, "The whistleblower's claims are not true," but the related controversy is spreading rapidly.

Earlier, on the 5th, Haugen appeared at a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearing held in Washington, D.C., targeting Zuckerberg by saying, "Ultimately, all responsibility lies with Mark," and added, "Mark created a numbers-driven organization. Those numbers make the decisions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.