A Senate lawsuit filed by the whistleblower company began Thursday with false allegations against Facebook, the company is now embroiled in an internal investigation into Instagram’s alleged problem. on the mental health of young people.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, head of the Senate Consumer Protection Committee, criticized Facebook for lying to Senate officials and publishing misleading statements on allegations made by the company’s experts. “We now know that Facebook always puts the value in front of children online. We know that it determines the size of its material over the health of our children. And now we know that it is disrespectful to do things to protect them, ”he said.
Revealed by the Wall Street Journal this month, a sit-in survey conducted on Facebook posted on the behavior of young teens has been alarmingly alarming. Facebook researchers wrote in one document: “Teens are blaming Instagram for too much stress and frustration.”
The newspaper also reported on Facebook’s attempts to cover up the findings, as is the case they are looking for new ways attracting race by children their age. Facebook was repeatedly informed of the abuses of Instagram, especially, young girls — many of whom link suicidal ideation with eating disorders to their experiences on the app. However documents show that Facebook, based on their findings, appeared to be as young as 10 children “metal” coma “unused” essential for corporate growth.
“We are here today because Facebook has shown us, once again, that it is incapable of holding itself accountable,” said Blumenthal, who told of a Facebook whistleblower approaching his office this month, offering “deep insight into Facebook’s relentless campaign to recruit and exploit young users.”
The whistleblower is now slated to testify before the subcommittee on Tuesday and will appear 60 minutes This Sunday.
On Thursday evening, Facebook is off was released two reports aimed at reducing the findings reported in the newspaper. It even went so far as to attack its scholars, making their methods as scientific errors if possible. That shipped to the findings as “original” as well “lighting” while striving to emphasize the shortcomings of his work. For example, the researchers did not trust “any medical procedure” while he repeatedly uses the word “mental health” – which the company said, should not be misinterpreted as “medical, educational or educational meaning.”
Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, took a bat on Facebook by quickly releasing him, claiming it was a cherry-select analysis. “We have these two reports in the middle of the whistleblower notes,” he said. “There are many more and more recent reports that Facebook has not revealed.”
“The fact is,” adapitiliza, “Facebook has kept track of research, education, experts who are showing child abuse on its page, how they became aware of the problem, and how they have been hiding, incessantly. ”
Blumenthal added that he is Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a committee member and Republican in Tennessee, wrote to CEO Mark Zuckerberg in August, asking if Facebook had heard of any negative effects, such as suicidal ideation, on children and young people’s mental health. The Facebook response, he said, is that “does not know the relationship between academics or professionals for how long.”
“That response,” he said, “it was not true.”
Blumenthal revealed that his office carried out their experiments, creating a fake Instagram account that pretended to be a 13-year-old girl. “easy to find” and associated with “overeating.” Instagram, less than a day later, promoted it “13 years old” following a number of encouraging articles “self-injury and eating,” he said.
The photo box displayed at the conference featured several accounts that Instagram recommended to follow. Most names have been deleted, but few indicate the type of content. For example, one says, “Thinner By The Day,” while the other is written “Anorexia B / P subtype,” meaning what happens in Bulimia by force. Another account called “EDTW,” a summary that means alerting users that their content is about eating disorders.
“Facebook has acquired Big Tobacco playbook,” said Blumenthal. “It has hidden its research into alcoholism and the dangers of its substances, tried to mislead people and us in Congress on what they know, and has protected childhood risks for children themselves.”