The American stopped working on Facebook earlier this year and has since been shaken by her revelations about the company. Haugen is highly critical of how Facebook handles misinformation and hateful posts.
I’m here because I believe Facebook products harm children, create division, weaken our democracy, and so much more. She said Facebook always chooses profit before security, she tells a whole series of committees in the European Parliament in Brussels on Monday night.
“You don’t want to show off”
It quickly and familiarly answers countless questions from members, about Facebook’s algorithms and controls.
– I don’t mean to brag, but there are probably only 200-300 people in the world who have the same knowledge as me on how this works. She adds that this in itself is a security problem.
Haugen has also testified before the US Senate and will travel to France later this week to speak to elected representatives there.
Laws in progress
Her visit to the EU comes at the same time that the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers are considering two major proposals made in December last year to modernize data management in Europe. In this work, Haugen’s tasks are now an important contribution.
– Your verses are very disturbing. The basic rights of users are at risk. Companies have failed to manage self-regulation, warns, for example, Spanish member Juan Fernando López Aguilar, who heads the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee.
Haugen agrees.
Laws must be strong and followed with a firm hand. Otherwise, we will miss this opportunity, says Hogan from Brussels.
Facts: The new EU network rules
In December 2020, the European Commission submitted proposals for two new digital laws: on digital services (DSA) and digital markets (DMA).
Simply put, DSA can be likened to the rules of the game for what happens on digital platforms, while DMA is seen as a set of rules for how the largest platforms compete with other smaller players in their specific region.
The DSA includes stricter requirements for platforms to work against illegal content as well as handle illegal goods. Digital coordinators in member states are given an oversight role to ensure that the platforms are working.
Bills are dealt with in the usual order in parallel by the EU countries in the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. The two sides hope to be able to agree on their own before the end of the year, so that they can complete settlement negotiations in the spring of 2022.
“Unapologetic writer. Bacon enthusiast. Introvert. Evil troublemaker. Friend of animals everywhere.”
More Stories
Trump may have to share a cell with his bodyguard
A 50-year-old karate man kicked a bear in the face
Sunak: Migrant flights to Rwanda this summer already | the world