Frances Haugen
| Use attributes for filter ! | |
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Official site | franceshaugen.com |
| Born | Iowa City |
| Iowa | |
| United States | |
| Education | Olin College |
| Date of Reg. | |
| Date of Upd. | |
| ID | 3479482 |
Frances Haugen Life story
Frances Haugen is an American data engineer and scientist, product manager, and whistleblower. She disclosed tens of thousands of Facebook's internal documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission and The Wall Street Journal in 2021.
'Blowing the whistle on Meta means I won't work again'
... " It followed an investigation in 2021 by several state prosecutors, after whistleblower Frances Haugen testified in the US that Meta knew its products could harm children...
Instagram sued over harm to young people's mental health
... It follows an investigation in to the company s practices in 2021 by several state prosecutors, after a whistleblower, Frances Haugen, testified in the US that the company knew its products could harm children...
Threads: Instagram owner launches Twitter-like app
... Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen said last year that the company had put " profits over safety" and criticised how the platform was moderated...
Meta sued for $2bn over Ethiopia violence
... In 2021, whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former employee, told the US Senate the platform s algorithm was " fanning ethnic violence...
Molly Russell's inquest to put focus on big tech
... Meta is likely to be questioned about a number of internal documents revealed by the former employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen...
Meta sued for $2bn over Ethiopia violence
By Chris VallanceTechnology reporter
Facebook<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> 's algorithm helped fuel the viral spread of hate and Violence<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> during Ethiopia's Civil War<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , a legal case alleges.
Abrham Meareg, the son of an Ethiopian academic shot dead after being attacked in Facebook<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> posts, is among those bringing the case against Meta .
They want a $2bn (£1. 6bn) fund for victims of hate on Facebook<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> and changes to The Platform<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> 's algorithm.
Meta said it invested heavily in moderation and tech to remove hate.
A representative said hate speech and incitement to Violence<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> were against The Platform<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> 's rules.
" Our safety-and-integrity work in Ethiopia is guided by feedback from local civil society organisations and international institutions, " the representative said.
Famine-like conditionsThe case, filed in Kenya's High Court, is supported by campaign group Foxglove.
Meta has a content moderation hub in Kenyan capital Nairobi.
Hundreds of thousands of people have died in The Conflict<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> between the Ethiopian government and forces in the northern Tigray region, with 400,000 others living in famine-like conditions.
Last month, a surprise peace deal was agreed - But recently, there has been an upsurge in ethnically motivated killings between Amhara- and Oromo-speaking communities.
Last Year<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> Mr Meareg's father became one The Casualties<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> of the country's Violence<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> .
On 3 November 2021, Prof Meareg Amare Abrha was followed home from his university by armed men on motorbikes and shot at Close Range<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> trying to enter The Family<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> home.
Threats from his attackers prevented witnesses coming to his aid as he lay bleeding, his son says. He died lying on the ground seven hours later.
Before The Attack<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , Facebook<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> posts slandered and revealed identifying information about him, his son says.
Despite repeated complaints using Facebook<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> 's reporting tool, The Platform<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> " left these posts up until it was far too late".
One was removed after his father's killing.
Another, which The Platform<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> had committed to remove, remained online as of 8 December 2022.
'Woefully inadequate'" If Facebook<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> had just stopped the spread of hate and moderated posts properly, My Father<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> would still be alive, " Mr Meareg said.
He wanted to ensure No Family<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> suffered as his had, He Said<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , and " a personal apology" from Meta .
In a sworn statement filed with The Court<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , Mr Meareg alleges Facebook<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> 's algorithm promotes " hateful and inciting" content because it is likely to draw more interaction from users.
He also claims Facebook<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> 's content moderation in Africa, is " woefully inadequate" with too few moderators who deal with posts in key languages Amharic, Oromo and Tigrinya.
Meta - which owns Facebook<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> - Told Bbc News<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> : " We employ staff with Local Knowledge<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> and expertise and continue to develop our capabilities to catch violating content in The Most<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> widely spoken languages in the country, including Amharic, Oromo, Somali and Tigrinya. "
It maintains Ethiopia is a high priority - although, less than 10% of the population uses Facebook<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> - and The Steps<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> it has taken include:
Analysis by Peter Mwai, BBC Reality Check<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , NairobiThis is a significant development, an attempt to legally take to task a social-media company over its actions during The Conflict<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> in Ethiopia.
Critics say Meta and other social-media companies do too little to prevent the sharing and spread of disinformation and content promoting hate and incitement against various ethnic groups. And in some cases, it takes too long for content to be removed, mostly after people report it.
Others claim The Company<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> has been unfair in its crackdown on hateful content, targeting posts written in some languages disproportionally.
Meta has always insisted it does a lot and has heavily invested in capacity to catch hateful and inflammatory content in the languages spoken most widely in the country.
It does have content moderators conversant with the main local languages But also relies on Artificial Intelligence<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> and local partners to flag content. And how many moderators work with Meta focusing on Ethiopia has never been clear.
But this is not the First Time<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> Facebook<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> has been accused of doing too little to stop the spread of content promoting ethnic hate and Violence<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> in Ethiopia.
In 2021, whistleblower Frances Haugen<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , a former employee, Told the US Senate The Platform<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> 's algorithm was " fanning ethnic Violence<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> . . picking up the extreme sentiments, the division" as those posts attracted high engagement, while Facebook<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> could not adequately identify dangerous content, and lacked sufficient expertise in many local languages - including some spoken in Ethiopia.
Other plaintiffs in the case include the Katiba Institute and Fisseha Tekle, who alleges Facebook<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> 's moderation failures made his human-rights reporting on The Conflict<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , for Amnesty International<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , Impossible<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> - and risked His Family<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> 's lives.
They are asking The Court<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> to order Facebook<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> to take steps to remedy The Situation<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , including:
Source of news: bbc.com
Frances Haugen Photos
