Facebook to conduct ‘reputational reviews’ on existing products amid whistleblower claims: report

Facebook will reportedly conduct "reputational reviews" of its existing products as the company has been accused of harming children, stoking division and weakening democracy. 

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Sources familiar with the situation told the Wall Street Journal that the reviews will examine how the tech giant's products may be criticized and ensure they don’t adversely impact children. As a result, some work on existing products has been put on hold. In addition, the sources told the Journal that Facebook is slowing down the development of its new products while the reviews are underway. 

Although Facebook did not immediately return FOX Business' request for comment, chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg has alluded changes would be coming after asking company leaders to do deep dives on Facebook's work and committing to continuing research on its products.

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The report comes one day after scathing testimony from former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen, who argued the company's leadership "knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won’t make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people."  

Haugen, who worked on issues related to democracy, misinformation and counterespionage while at Facebook, leaked internal documents to the Journal, now known as "The Facebook Files". She claims the documents show how Facebook "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." In addition, she cited potential national security concerns regarding how Facebook is operating today.

"I came forward because I believe that every human being deserves the dignity of the truth," she told lawmakers on Tuesday. "As long as Facebook is operating in the shadows, hiding its research from public scrutiny, it is unaccountable. Until the incentives change, Facebook will not change. Left alone, Facebook will continue to make choices that go against the common good."

Following her testimony, Facebook's director of policy communications, Lena Pietsch, blasted Haugen, noting she "worked for the company for less than two years, had no direct reports, never attended a decision-point meeting with C-level executives – and testified more than six times to not working on the subject matter in question." Meanwhile, Zuckerberg said Haugen's claims "don't make any sense" and are "deeply illogical." 

"While I can't speculate on her motives, I can say she didn't work on these issues and her testifying about them and mischaracterizing some of the documents she stole is like if a journalist were to read another journalist story, a colleague story, and say, 'Oh, I'm an expert on this'," Facebook vice president of content policy Monika Bickert reiterated to "America's Newsroom" on Wednesday. "I mean, she's not an expert in these areas. These are not areas that she worked on at Facebook."

Bickert defended Instagram, arguing the platform prioritizes safety and works with individuals who have expertise in the matter, including teachers, counselors, and legal experts. She also argued Facebook's research shows the platform can be beneficial to the mental health of some young teens.  

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While Haugen has stopped short of supporting breaking up Big Tech, she pressed lawmakers to reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to exempt Facebook's algorithms and engagement-based ranking from its protections.

She also recommended Congress seek out Facebook's research related to the addictiveness of its products and what it knows about parents' lack of knowledge of its platforms. In addition, she called on more whistleblowers to step forward and ensure the public has the information needed to make sure technologies like Facebook are human-centric rather than computer-centric. 

"Companies have 100% control over their algorithms, and Facebook should not get a free pass on choices it makes to prioritize growth and virality and reactiveness over public safety," Haugen said. 

Though Facebook disagrees with Haugen's claims, they agreed that Congress needs to create standard rules for the internet.