‘That’s just not true’: Zuckerberg denies claims Facebook prioritises profit over user safety
Facebook’s chief executive has denied claims that the company prioritises profit over the safety of its users.
Mark Zuckerberg was responding to Frances Haugen’s claims that, left alone, Facebook would “continue to make choices that go against the common good – our common good”.
Ms Haugen – a former product manager at the tech giant – gave evidence to US politicians in the Senate on Tuesday, days after leaking internal company documents to The Wall Street Journal.
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‘Facebook buys its profits with our safety’
Mr Zuckerberg wrote in a blog on Tuesday night that the testimony “just doesn’t reflect the company we know”, adding: “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.”
Documents leaked by Ms Haugen included an internal study that suggested Instagram generated peer pressure, leading to mental health and body image problems among young girls, including eating disorders and suicidal thoughts.
In one report, 13.5% of teenage girls said Instagram increased suicidal thoughts, and 17% said it made eating disorders worse.
During her testimony, Ms Haugen accused Facebook of “hiding its research from public scrutiny”, meaning it was “unaccountable”.
She added: “When we realised Big Tobacco was hiding the harms, that caused the government to take action. When we figured out cars were safer with seatbelts, the government took action.
“And when our government learned that opioids were taking lives, the government took action.”
The whistleblower had revealed her identity in an interview with the 60 Minutes programme on CBS, where she claimed Facebook prematurely turned off safeguards designed to combat misinformation that contributed to the US Capitol attack.
She said the changes made to algorithms contributed to more divisiveness, but that Facebook discovered they helped keep people coming back, helping the tech giant sell more digital ads – the lion’s share of its revenue.
Mr Zuckerberg responded: “We make money from ads, and advertisers consistently tell us they don’t want their ads next to harmful or angry content.
“And I don’t know any tech company that sets out to build products that make people angry or depressed.
“The moral, business and product incentives all point in the opposite direction.”
Facebook also owns WhatsApp and Instagram
Mr Zuckerberg said that many of Ms Haugen’s claims “don’t make any sense”.
He added: “If we wanted to hide our results, why would we have established an industry-leading standard for transparency and reporting on what we’re doing?
“And if social media were as responsible for polarising society as some people claim, then why are we seeing polarisation increase in the US while it stays flat or declines in many countries with just as heavy use of social media around the world?
“At the heart of these accusations is this idea that we prioritise profit over safety and well-being. That’s just not true.”
After Ms Haugen’s testimony, some senators personally extended an invitation for Mr Zuckerberg to testify in front of the committee, while others accused him of going sailing instead of facing his responsibilities.
Her testimony came after Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp suffered an unprecedented outage for almost six hours on Monday – leaving its 3.5 billion users unable to access services.
Americans are choosing their new president today.
Either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will be the new occupant of the White House in January.
For many people, their vote will make little difference.
The main crunch points are in seven states and one inner state district.
In the following game, you can predict who will win in each swing state.
We will tell you at the end who the new president will be – if you have made correct predictions.
Good luck!
Voters across 50 states are preparing to cast their ballots after a bitterly contested US election campaign, which will see Donald Trump or Kamala Harris become president.
In the last few hours, both candidates have been giving their final pitches. “The momentum is on our side,” Ms Harris told a crowd in Philadelphia that chanted back, “We will win”.
“Tonight, then, we finish as we started: with optimism, with energy, with joy,” she said, while enjoying the support of celebrity endorsements on the day from Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Jon Bon Jovi.
In contrast, Mr Trump ended his campaign in Michigan, repeating key messages about the economy and immigration.
A handful of states will play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the election. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin hold the keys to the White House.
To become president, the winning candidate needs 270 electoral votes or more, with each state carrying a different number of votes.
But the focus has been on Pennsylvania which carries 19 electoral votes, the most of all the swing states.
It has been a remarkable journey for both candidates – with Mr Trump surviving two assassination attempts and Ms Harris not even originally in the running.
Katy Perry performed in Pittsburgh in support of Kamala Harris. Pic: AP
For more than a year, the 2024 presidential race seemed destined for a rematch between Joe Biden and Mr Trump – but a disastrous TV debate by Mr Biden eventually forced him to withdraw from the ticket.
The Democratic party’s decision to replace Mr Biden with his vice president transformed the race and shifted polls in Ms Harris’s favour. But only just.
Many polls are too tight to call and, with a large margin of error, most experts are refusing to predict the outcome.
Read more:
Overseas ballots face legal challenge
You decide the new president
Should we fear Trumponomics?
Later, attention will turn to those battleground states including Georgia, which is among the first polls to close at 7pm local time (midnight UK time).
State election officials told Sky News they could have a result as early as 10pm (3am UK time).
Even so, it could be several days before the US has a definitive result.
Voters are not just selecting a president. In addition, 10 states will hold abortion-related ballots, half of which would overturn existing restrictions.
Predict who you think will win in each swing state and we’ll tell you who the president will be if you’re right.
Tonight, Sky News will have access to the most comprehensive exit poll and vote-counting results from every state, county and demographic across America through its US-partner network NBC.
You can find out more about Sky News’ coverage here.
US
Voter in UK ‘terrified’ by US election legal battle, as up to 4,000 ballots challenged in Pennsylvania
Up to 4,000 people voting overseas in the US election are having their ballots challenged in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
They include Selma Aldi, 47, from Camden in north London who received a letter on Sunday explaining that her ballot in the US presidential election is at risk of being rejected.
“It was a shock,” she said. “It was terrifying to be targeted, to potentially lose a right that I hold as very important. It’s even a feeling that someone is questioning my identity.”
The trainee GP, who grew up in Hershey, Pennsylvania left America in 2000 but has voted via absentee ballot in every US presidential election since.
A letter from election officials in Dauphin County outlines the legal challenge. It reads: “The applicant is not registered to vote and therefore is not eligible to vote in Pennsylvania.
“Under Pennsylvania law, it is a felony to permit any person to vote who is not registered.”
A hearing on the legal challenge is scheduled for Friday, in which Ms Aldi can respond.
Around 2.8 million US citizens living abroad are entitled to vote in the election, no matter where they are on polling day.
But each state has different procedures and rules on how election paperwork can be sent and received.
Selma Aldi on her graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, seated next to a figure of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the US.
But Ari Savitzky, senior staff Attorney at the ACLU said “any attempt to challenge [voters] eligibility is a clear violation of their rights”.
He told Sky News: “Between 3,000 and 4,000 challenges have been filed in Pennsylvania to the absentee ballots of US citizens living abroad.
“For decades, federal law has guaranteed the right of US citizens living abroad to vote in federal elections at their last US residence.
“In addition to being legally baseless, these challenges are an abuse to voters and to election administrators.”
Read more from Sky News:
US election: Colleges, swing states and how it all works
Should we fear Trumponomics?
What happens if there’s a tie in the US election?
Deborah Hinchey from another voting rights group, All Voting is Local, said: “Election deniers across Pennsylvania have submitted thousands of mass challenges to overseas voters.
“They want to block as many ballots as possible and silence our voices… but these baseless challenges have failed before and the proper checks and balances are in place to make sure they’ll fail again,” she added.
Tonight, Sky News will have access to the most comprehensive exit poll and vote-counting results from every state, county and demographic across America through its US-partner network NBC.
You can find out more about Sky News’ coverage here.
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