Facebook Spokesmen Question Haugen's Knowledge of the Company
October 05 2021 - 1:00PM
Dow Jones News
By Ryan Tracy
Much of Frances Haugen's impact before this week came from her
decision to disclose internal Facebook Inc. documents. Now that she
is taking the microphone, Facebook spokespeople are questioning the
breadth of her knowledge about the company. Andy Stone said on
Twitter that Ms. Haugen "did not work on child safety or Instagram
or research these issues and has no direct knowledge of the topic
from her work at Facebook" and pointed to her testimony to that
effect.
Joe Osborne disputed Ms. Haugen's characterization of the
company's decision-making during the period between the November
2020 election and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
The problem for Facebook is that lawmakers don't appear ready to
listen to the company. At a hearing last week with the company's
global head of safety, not a single senator spoke up in Facebook's
defense. At Tuesday's hearing, several senators have said the
company's lobbyists are fighting against legislative proposals-in
contrast to the company's advertising campaign calling for updated
internet regulations.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) characterized Mark Zuckerberg's
reaction as "going sailing and saying 'no apologies,'" an apparent
reference to an Instagram post by the Facebook CEO over the
weekend.
"The time has come for action, and I think you are the catalyst
for that action," Ms. Klobuchar told Ms. Haugen.
Write to Ryan Tracy at ryan.tracy@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 05, 2021 12:45 ET (16:45 GMT)
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