Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Facebook under fresh pressure as whistleblower prepares to give evidence to MPs

Facebook under fresh pressure as whistleblower prepares to give evidence to MPs

The company has been plunged into a crisis since Frances Haugen released thousands of pages of internal research documents secretly copied before leaving her job in the firm's civic integrity unit.

A Facebook whistleblower whose claims have rocked the social media giant has launched a fresh attack on Mark Zuckerberg, accusing him of not being willing to protect public safety.

The latest broadside by former employee Frances Haugen comes as she prepares to give evidence to MPs at Westminster.

Her intervention ramps up the pressure on the embattled $1trn (£750bn) company, which has been plunged into a crisis since she released thousands of pages of internal research documents secretly copied before leaving her job in the firm's civic integrity unit.

Ms Haugen is to face questions from MPs scrutinising the draft Online Safety Bill


It comes amid newspaper reports that workers repeatedly warned Facebook was being flooded with misinformation claiming that the 2020 US presidential election result was being rigged.

Workers reportedly believed more should have been done to tackle it.
Advertisement

It has fuelled renewed concerns about Facebook's role in the 6 January Capitol riots, in which a mob seeking to overturn the election result stormed Congress.

Separate leaked documents also reveal Facebook in India wavered in curbing hate speech and anti-Muslim content on its platform and lacked enough local language moderators to stop misinformation, which at times sparked violence.

Criticising Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a interview with The Observer newspaper, Ms Haugen said: "Right now, Mark is unaccountable.

"He has all the control.

"He has no oversight, and he has not demonstrated that he is willing to govern the company at the level that is necessary for public safety."

Facebook is reportedly planning to rebrand with a name change


She said she had leaked the documents because she realised the company would not change otherwise.

Ms Haugen made her comments ahead of facing questions from a UK parliamentary committee scrutinising the draft Online Safety Bill, which aims to regulate tech firms and social media in a bid to curb cyber abuse and threats.

She has already levelled a series allegations against the social network, saying its platforms "harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy", and that it refused to act because executives put profits above safety.

Ms Haugen has also accused the tech giant of being aware of the apparent harm Instagram could have on some teenagers and their body image, and said the firm had been dishonest in its public fight against hate content and misinformation by concealing research that showed it amplified such content.

Mr Zuckerberg has rejected the claims made by Ms Haugen, saying her attacks on the company were "misrepresenting" the work it does and that it "cares deeply about issues like safety, well-being and mental health".

He added: "At the heart of these accusations is this idea that we prioritise profit over safety and well-being. That's just not true."

Facebook is reportedly planning to rebrand its business name in an apparent bid to distance its wider business from the string of controversies that have engulfed it in recent years.

Among its latest big ideas is the so-called metaverse, a 3D online world the firm wants to lead the way on building, in which people can meet, play and work virtually, often using virtual reality headsets.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×