Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Jul 14, 2025

Facebook Papers: Company takes heat from lawmakers over leaked docs

Facebook Papers: Company takes heat from lawmakers over leaked docs

Facebook Papers leak leads to harsh criticism of tech giant
Several lawmakers shared their reactions to the Facebook Papers – a trove of leaked documents revealing the company's inner workings – and cited them as proof that the tech giant has become unaccountable.

Republicans and Democrats have spoken out on the recent revelations regarding Facebook, with lawmakers in both the House and Senate blasting the social media giant over the leaked internal documents.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., blasted Facebook for discriminating against "conservative news sources," telling FOX Business in a Monday email the company is doing so to give a smoke screen to Democrat politicians.

"Facebook discriminates against conservative news sources, not because of policy violations, but because Facebook wants to protect Democratic politicians," Cotton said. "If Facebook is going to act as an arm of the Democratic Party, we’ll treat them like one."

Reports on the whistleblower content have illustrated issues at the market behemoth, such as the adverse, impactful effect Instagram reportedly has on the psyche of teenage girls.

"The huge document dump about Facebook reveals that the company is beset with problem after problem, yet it still brings in $100 billion a year. No company can bring in that kind of money with those kinds of problems unless it’s a monopoly. It’s time that Congress take seriously the need to break up Big Tech," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told FOX Business.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., also took Facebook to task over the reports, telling FOX Business that the tech giant has "proven themselves cavalier" in their operations and called for them to be broken up.

"Facebook has repeatedly proven themselves cavalier with their operating practices and procedures, from its censorship of conservatives to its internal suppression of harms caused by the platform," Cawthorn said. "It's time to break up big tech and break the hold they have over the American people. They've gone unchecked for far too long."

Former company product manager Frances Haugen ignited the Facebook firestorm earlier this month when she blew the whistle on the tech giant's alleged exploitation of users to increase their bottom line.

One document shared and reviewed by FOX Business and a media consortium of 16 other U.S. news outlets suggests that employees raised concerns in 2018 that the company was exploiting its users.

"It's not a secret we've often resorted to aggressive tactics in the name of growth and we've been pretty unapologetic about it," an unidentified Facebook employee wrote in an internal group known as "Let's Fix Facebook."

"Many employees have called out these tactics as hostile and disrespectful to our users, and the response has generally been, that our care metrics weren't moved [in other words we could get away with them]. Today, the light has changed and all these tactics are being subject to the highest level of scrutiny fueling the narrative that Facebook seeks profits by exploiting its users."

The trove of documents from Haugen was given to media outlets through a congressional source and the documents are partially redacted. Some of the documents included have been previously reported on by The Wall Street Journal, which has published its own series of reports, dubbed the Facebook Files.

Drew Pusateri, a spokesperson for Facebook, told Fox Business in a Monday email that the company has been pushing for updated Internet regulations, themselves.

"For two and a half years we have been calling for updated regulations ourselves," Pusateri said. "Every day, we make difficult decisions on where to draw lines between free expression and harmful speech, privacy, security, and other issues, and we use both our own research and research from outside experts to improve our products and policies."

"But we should not be making these decisions on our own which is why for years we’ve been advocating for updated regulations where democratic governments set industry standards to which we can all adhere," he continued.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
×