Facebook whistleblower will meet company’s Oversight Board to discuss recent claims made by her

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen who recently called out Facebook noted that she has accepted the Oversight Board’s invitation and noted that Facebook has lied to the board repeatedly. (Picture: Reuters)HIGHLIGHTSFacebook Oversight board will meet up with Frances Haugen to discuss the claims made by her.The oversight board noted that the choices made by companies like Facebook have real-world consequences for the freedom of expression.Earlier this month, whistleblower Haugen, who is also a former Facebook employee, revealed her identity.Facebook Oversight Board, a body set up by the social network to give independent verdicts on a small number of thorny content decisions, on Monday said that it would meet with a former employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen in the coming weeks. Haugen in a tweet wrote, “I have accepted the invitation to brief the Facebook Oversight Board about what I learned while working there. Facebook has lied to the board repeatedly, and I am looking forward to sharing the truth with them.”

Separately, Facebook’s Oversight Board said, “In light of the serious claims made about Facebook by Ms. Haugen, we have extended an invitation for her to speak to the Board over the coming weeks, which she has accepted. Board members appreciate the chance to discuss Ms Haugen’s experiences and gather the information that can help push for greater transparency and accountability from Facebook through our case decisions and recommendations,” the statement added.The oversight board noted that the choices made by companies like Facebook have real-world consequences for the freedom of expression and human rights of billions of people across the world and that transparency around rules is essential. Earlier this month, whistleblower Haugen, who is also a former Facebook employee, revealed her identity after she applied for federal whistleblower protection.Haugen had presented internal documents that went to Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and The Wall Street Journal. She decided to reveal her identity and noted that Facebook realised that if they change the algorithm to be safer, people will spend less time on the site, and will click on fewer ads, making less money. “I’ve seen a bunch of social networks and it was substantially worse at Facebook than what I had seen before. Facebook, over and over again, has shown it chooses profit over safety,” Haugen told 60 Minutes.“The thing I want everyone to know is that Facebook is far, far more dangerous than anyone knows, and it is getting worse. We can’t expect it to fix itself on its own,” Haugen had told the Journal about Instagram affecting teenagers’ mental health. Shortly after Haugen revealed her identity Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp went into an almost 7-hour outage. After the issue was fixed, Facebook and WhatsApp CEOs came forth to note how much people rely on the platforms. Facebook’s Oversight board had started accepting cases from users in October last year. The board comprises independent members who keep a check on the decisions made by the Facebook moderators.Click here for our site’s complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.