Facebook whistleblower takes the stand: “Ther e’s no one currently ho lding Mark accountable"

Facebook Whistleblower Testifies About Company’s Harms Amid Leak Fallout

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before Congress on Tuesday, telling a Senate subcommittee that the social media giant is putting “profits before people.”

Haugen’s claims are supported by tens of thousands of pages of internal Facebook research, which she previously provided to The Wall Street Journal.

The paper used the documents to publish a series of highly damaging articles about Facebook, alleging that, among other things, the company knew Instagram was “toxic” for teenagers even as it pursued strategies to sign up younger and younger children.

In her opening statement, Haugen urged Congress to regulate Facebook. She compared the company to Big Tobacco, which for decades hid research about its products’ true harm.

“The documents I have provided to Congress prove that Facebook has repeatedly misled the public about what its own research reveals about the safety of children, the efficacy of its artificial intelligence systems, and its role in spreading divisive and extreme messages,” Haugen said. “I came forward because I believe that every human being deserves the dignity of the truth.”

FBI swoops in on NYPD union

Federal agents raided the offices Tuesday of a New York City police union, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, and the Long Island home of its bombastic leader, who has clashed with city officials over his incendiary tweets and hard-line tactics. FBI spokesperson Martin Feely said agents were “carrying out a law enforcement action in connection with an ongoing investigation.” Along with the union’s Manhattan headquarters, agents also searched union president Ed Mullins’ home in Port Washington, Long Island, Feely said.

Iconic casino set to host climate deniers

Caesars Entertainment, one of the world’s largest casino-resort operators, is set to host the Super Bowl of climate change denial this month at its iconic Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. On Oct. 15, the Illinois-based Heartland Institute is scheduled to convene its three-day “International Conference on Climate Change,” an annual confab at which the right-wing think tank that cut its teeth shilling for the tobacco industry in the 1990s parades its stable of pundits and contrarians who reject climate science.

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