'Facebook cares about safety, mental health': Mark Zuckerberg denies ex-worker's testimony

Facebook founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has dismissed claims made by a former employee who created headlines for her testimony against the company. Addressing the US Senate, Frances Haugen, who was a product manager with Facebook and handled democracy and misinformation issues, had said that the social media giant was aware of the misinformation it spreads and the harm it causes but it took no action because of the profits involved. On Tuesday, Zuckerberg retaliated to the same and said that his company cares “deeply about issues like safety, well-being and mental health”.

“We care deeply about issues like safety, well-being and mental health. It's difficult to see coverage that misrepresents our work and our motives. At the most basic level, I think most of us just don't recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted,” he wrote in a facebook post.

'Meaningful Social Interactions'

Furthermore Zuckerberg emphasised that “fighting harmful content” was a top priority for Facebook, adding that all its platforms are transparent and report on their actions. He also retaliated against the accusation of choosing profit over safety by asserting that Facebook recently introduced ‘Meaningful Social Interactions’ to news feed, thereby showing the users more content from friends and family rather than what was viral. 

"And if social media were as responsible for polarizing society as some people claim, then why are we seeing polarization increase in the US while it stays flat or declines in many countries with just as heavy use of social media around the world?," he added. 

In her testimony, Haugens also alleged that Facebook operatives are well aware that vulnerable people are harmed by their content. To further buttress her stance, she cited examples of children who feel bad about their bodies after seeing flawless figures on Instagram. Additionally, she said that it also harms adults who are subjected to misinformation specifically flaring up a sense of isolation in those who’ve moved to a new city, are divorced or are widowed.

Responding to allegations made by Haugens, the 37-year-old Facebook founder said that he was particularly concerned about allegations made about harming children. “I've spent a lot of time reflecting on the kinds of experiences I want my kids and others to have online, and it's very important to me that everything we build is safe and good for kids,” he said. Furthermore, Zuckerberg disclosed that the company was working to bring ‘age-appropraite experience with parental controls” on its phoosharing platform Instagram. 

"We've also worked on bringing this kind of age-appropriate experience with parental controls for Instagram too. But given all the questions about whether this would actually be better for kids, we've paused that project to take more time to engage with experts and make sure anything we do would be helpful," Zuckerberg wrote. 

Image: AP