WASHINGTON – Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has taken to social media to respond to a whistleblower’s claims that his platform knowingly spreads misinformation and harmful content.
In a memo to employees posted publicly on Zuckerberg’s official Facebook page, the 37-year-old CEO claimed that former product manager Frances Haugen’s testimony before a U.S. Senate subcommittee Tuesday painted a “false picture of the company.”
Former Facebook employee Frances Haugen speaks during a hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Washington.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., arrive for a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Washington.
Former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen arrives to testify before a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Washington.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., talks with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. as former Facebook data scientist Frances Haugen speaks during a hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Washington.
Former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen listens to opening statements during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Washington.
Former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen arrives to testify during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Washington.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., left, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., right speak to former Facebook data scientist Frances Haugen, center, during a hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Washington.
Former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen testifies during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Washington.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and ranking member Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., talk before a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Washington.
Former Facebook data scientist Frances Haugen speaks during a hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Washington.
“The argument that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit is deeply illogical,” Zuckerberg wrote. “We make money from ads, and advertisers consistently tell us they don’t want their ads next to harmful or angry content. And I don’t know any tech company that sets out to build products that make people angry or depressed. The moral, business and product incentives all point in the opposite direction.”
>> Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp back online; no evidence user data compromised, company says
He also said Facebook has “advocated for updated internet regulations for several years now,” pointing out that he has “testified in Congress multiple times and asked them to update these regulations.”
The response came hours after Haugen, 37, told the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection that the company’s products “harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy,” according to The Associated Press.
“The company’s leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won’t make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people,” said Haugen, who first shared her concerns in an interview with “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday.
Haugen, a data scientist, added that lawmakers need to hold the social media companies accountable.
“Congressional action is needed,” she said Tuesday. “They won’t solve this crisis without your help.”
In his post Tuesday evening, Zuckerberg also addressed a six-hour global outage that Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp suffered Monday.
Here are some memorable moments from Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s life in the public eye.
2004: Mark Zuckerberg and Chris Hughes, creators of "Facebook," photographed at Eliot House at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 14, 2004.
2005: Chris Hughes (left) and Mark Zuckerberg, of Facebook, in their Palo Alto, California, location.
2009: Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, attends the Digital Life Design (DLD) conference on January 27, 2009, in Munich, Germany.
2010: Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers the opening keynote address at the f8 Developer Conference April 21, 2010, in San Francisco, California.
2011: U.S. President Barack Obama talks with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg during a town hall style meeting at Facebook headquarters on April 20, 2011, in Palo Alto, California.
2013: Anna Kendrick and Mark Zuckerberg are presenters at the 2014 Breakthrough Prizes Awarded in Fundamental Physics and Life Sciences Ceremony at NASA Ames Research Center on December 12, 2013, in Mountain View, California.
2014: Breakthrough Prize co-founders Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg attend. the Breakthrough Prize Awards Ceremony Hosted by Seth MacFarlane at NASA Ames Research Center on November 9, 2014, in Mountain View, California.
2015: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan arrive for a state dinner in honor of Chinese President President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at the White House on September 25, 2015, in Washington, D.C.
2016: Pope Francis meets Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, second from left, and his wife Priscilla Chan, at the Santa Marta residence, the guest house in Vatican City where the pope lives, Monday, Aug. 29, 2016.
2017: Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers the commencement address at the Alumni Exercises at Harvard’s 366th commencement exercises on May 25, 2017, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
2018: Facebook co-founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a combined Senate Judiciary and Commerce committee hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill April 10, 2018, in Washington, D.C.
2019: Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg attend the eighth annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at NASA Ames Research Center on November 3, 2019, in Mountain View, California.
2021: CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg walks with COO of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg after a session at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 8, 2021, in Sun Valley, Idaho.
“We’ve spent the past 24 hours debriefing how we can strengthen our systems against this kind of failure,” he wrote. “This was also a reminder of how much our work matters to people. The deeper concern with an outage like this isn’t how many people switch to competitive services or how much money we lose, but what it means for the people who rely on our services to communicate with loved ones, run their businesses or support their communities.”
>> Mark Zuckerberg loses billions in net worth amid Facebook outage, whistleblower news
According to Bloomberg, social media magnate’s worth fell by at least $6 billion – to $121.6 billion – as Facebook shares plunged 4.9% on Monday. Forbes reported similar figures, saying Zuckerberg’s fortune dropped to $117 billion – a $5.9 billion decline. The new numbers put him at No. 5 on Bloomberg’s list of the world’s richest people, behind Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault and Bill Gates.
Read more here or here.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.
