‘Twitch, toxic and divisive’: Facebook’s Instagram problem lies

“twitch”, “toxic”, “divisive”.

Facebook’s Instagram problem is erupting. Facebook bought the photo-sharing app in 2012 for $1 billion, and on Tuesday, a whistleblower blew the cover on how Facebook engineers pushed teens on the brink of toxic connections to Instagram. The damaging revelations came through more than 200 minutes of live testimony in the US Congress on Tuesday.

Recently leaked internal Facebook documents show that 13 percent of British users and 6 percent of American users wish to kill themselves on Instagram.

After facing Facebook’s global security chief for the first time, US lawmakers turned to whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former employee of the social networking giant.

Facebook, according to Haugen, is focused on attracting younger users to Instagram early, so they don’t turn to TikTok or Snapchat.

“They understand the value of young users to Facebook’s long-term success,” she said Tuesday.

Haugen, testifying to the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, set out the broad brushstrokes of the new rules needed to rein in Facebook and other platforms that feed customer data to fire up their growth engines.

The most charged moments came when Haugen took to Instagram to talk about the damage it causes to teenagers, mostly girls.

Haugen said Facebook knows that children are harmed by its system in their most vulnerable moments. She said Facebook learned that just before high school is at age 14, when kids are most likely to get sucked into Instagram’s emotional roller coaster.

Here are some key excerpts from Haugen’s testimony Tuesday, especially as it pertains to young people on stage:

Problematic use: “I think what Facebook does on problematic use, product addiction – is of vital importance, and anything around what Facebook knows about the lack of parental knowledge about the platform Facebook clarifies the idea that parents today are not aware of the dangers via Instagram. Because they don’t live with these experiences themselves, they can’t train their kids on basic safety.”

Instagram Is About Bodies: “Facebook’s own research says Instagram is actually worse than TikTok or Snapchat or Reddit. TikTok is about doing fun things with your friends. Snapchat is about faces and augmented reality Reddit is vague about ideas, but Instagram is about the body, and about comparing lifestyles. And so I think there are real questions about where Instagram has to come up and think about its product. , or what their product is about.”

Anorexia content: “Facebook knows that their engagement-based ranking, the way they choose content in Instagram for young users — for all users — boosts preferences, and they have taken something called a proactive approach. Active, phenomenon Feedback where they take things. They’ve heard for example whether you can algorithmically lead to dietary ingredients, and they’ve literally created and confirmed that experiment themselves. Yes, it happens to people. So Facebook knows they are leading young users to anorexia content.”

Benefits to the public: “I believe Facebook’s products harm children, promote division and undermine our democracy. The company’s leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safe, but not the change needed Because they have placed their astronomical advantage before the people. Congressional action is needed.”

Misleading, divisive, extreme: “The company intentionally hides important information from the public from the U.S. government and governments around the world. Documents I’ve provided to Congress prove that Facebook, through its own research, the public about security.” has repeatedly misled children, the efficacy of its artificial intelligence systems and role in spreading divisive and extreme messages.”

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