If FB Is Problem, Is Social Media Regulator The Fix?

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen told Congress on Tuesday that one option for making social media less harmful would be to create a dedicated regulatory agency to oversee companies like Facebook, which could have former tech workers on staff.

Washington: “Right now, the only people in the world who are trained to ... understand what’s happening inside of Facebook, are people who grew up inside of Facebook or Pinterest or another social media company,” she said during a hearing before a Senate Commerce Committee panel.

How social media companies should be regulated has been a topic of intense debate among lawmakers, regulators and experts. Facebook, the world’s largest social network, has been blasted by over a lack of transparency into how its platforms work, its handling of user data and the impact of its sites on users. Haugen, a former product manager at the company who leaked internal documents to the Wall Street Journal, said the profit motive was strong enough that Facebook, which owns Instagram, would not change without pressure. “Until incentives change at Facebook, we should not expect Facebook to change. We need action from Congress,” she said. Haugen also said that if she were made CEO of Facebook, she would immediately establish a policy that would allow it to share internal research with Congress and other oversight bodies, calling for transparency and public scrutiny of Facebook’s systems and decisions.