Thu 23 September 2021:
On Sept. 30, Facebook’s global head of safety, Antigone Davis, will appear before the Senate Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection.
The Washington Post reported the news earlier Thursday.
The Wall Street Journal published a series of articles about Facebook’s internal research and deliberations about human traffickers using the platform, special treatment of content from politicians and celebrities, and the mental health impact of Instagram on teenage girls. The reporting shows that some proposals to address the problems were either partially implemented or ignored.
One of the articles that sparked anger among lawmakers revealed that Facebook conducted research that showed its Instagram app had a negative impact on many teenage girls’ mental health, despite testimony from top executives in the past that only highlighted the platforms’ positive impacts. Lawmakers in both parties demanded answers from Facebook.
Following the findings, Instagram’s head of public policy, Karina Newton, stated in a blog post that that the company is exploring ways to nudge users toward more uplifting content.
Facebook executive Antigone Davis, the company’s global head of safety, will testify, according to a company spokesman. A YouTube spokesperson said the company won’t send a representative next week but is working with the committee to testify at another time.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., the ranking member on the subcommittee, told CNBC last week about the upcoming hearing, saying she expected it would include representatives from Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Snap and Google-owned YouTube. It’s not yet clear which companies besides Facebook, if any, will have a witness at next week’s hearing.
(Input with agency)
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