Page 14 - Inside Facebook News Today

Those safeguards right after the election, and you know the insurrection occurred january 6. do you think facebook turned off the safeguards because they were costing the company money, because it was reducing profits? >> facebook changed those safety defaults in the run-up to the election because they knew they were dangerous. and because they want that growth back, they wanted the acceleration of the platform back after the election, they returned to their original defaults. and the fact they ...

Latest on the damning testimony from the facebook whistle-blower that ceo mark zuckerberg is disputing tonight. >> the only way we can move forward and heal facebook is we first have to admit the truth. >> reporter: and the truth, according to frances haugen, is that the social media giant is hiding what it really knows about its impact on its users, including the spread of misinformation. >> facebook likes to paint that these issues are really complicated. facebook prioritized that content on t...

Children, and its not just that they make money. again, its that they valued their profit more than the pain that they cause to children and their families. >> reporter: the word addiction coming up over and over again during the testimony. >> its just like cigarettes. teenagers dont have good se self-regulation. she say explicitly, i feel bad when i use instagram, and yet i cant stop. we need to protect the kids. >> reporter: in a tweet, facebook responding, saying haugen didnt actually work on...

Take a listen to this. >> he holds over 55% of all the voting shares for facebook. there are no similarly powerful company that are as unilaterally controlled. and in the end, the buck stops with mark. there is currently no one holding mark accountable but himself. >> straight up, kara, is she right? is mark zuckerberg the sfproble? >> oh, yeah. well, he cant be fired. you and i can be fired, right? it does have an effect on us. if youre unfireable and youre unaccountable and you run the biggest...

Breaking news tonight, facebooks ceo disputing the powerful testimony by whistle-blower frances haugen. she told a senate subcommittee that she believes facebook harms children, stokes division, and weakens our democracy and says congressional action is needed. but mark zuckerberg fighting back, saying a lot of haugens claims dont make any sense and denying that facebook puts profits over the safety and well-being of its users. also tonight, president joe biden trying to save his domestic agen...

An impact. and so what does that mean to do that? are they a utility? are they a publisher? are they a media company? that needs to be determined. >> listen, i think youre right. i have my idea of what i think, but i dont know if that will work. but we should have the discussion and see if theres something that will work. kara, i appreciate you joining us. thank you. have a good evening. >> no problem, don. thanks. now to democrats scrambling to make a deal to pass the presidents domestic agen...

Senators called out his absence and quipped that he was sailing, referring to his recent uploads to facebook and instagram. >> rather than taking responsibility and showing leadership, mr. zuckerberg is going sailing. >> reporter: lots of comments about the credibility of this whistleblower. people blown away by how knowledgeable she is and how much she is willing to share. and remember, don, the documents she has provided, they show lots of employees inside facebook have the same fears that she...

Voting shares for facebook. there are no similarly powerful companies that are as unilaterally controlled. in the end, the buck stops with mark. theres no one currently holding mark accountable but himself. >> straight up, kara, is she right? is mark zuckerberg the problem? >> oh, yeah. well, he cant be fired. i dont know, don. you and i can be fired, right? >> yeah. >> it does have an effect on us. so if youre unfireable and unaccountable and you run the biggest communications platform in the h...

Because they were costing the company money, because it was reducing profits? >> facebook changed those safety defaults in the run-up to the election because they knew they were dangerous and because they wanted that growth back, they wanted the acceleration of the platform back after the election, they returned to their original defaults. the fact that they had to break the glass on january 6th and turn them back on, i think thats deeply problematic. >> reporter: another big focus of the hearin...

Facebook, as you saw from the response by mark zuckerberg, is saying this is not the company we know, which is in essence saying, we dont know what shes talking about. i think some of the tweets from some of the p.r. people and statements trying to minimize her, trying to make it seem like shes a nobody, that shes not in the big meetings, i think aggression is what theyre using here. so its up to congress now to act. and frankly, theyve done nothing, and so its at their foot. they have to do som...