20 Talks - Frances Haugen: Advocate for accountability and transparency in social media

Frances Huagen is a specialist in algorithmic product management, having worked on ranking algorithms at Google, Pinterest, Yelp and Facebook. During her time at Facebook as lead Product Manager on the Civic Misinformation team, Frances became increasingly alarmed by choices made by the company that arguably put its users and vulnerable communities (including children and minorities) at risk. In 2021, Frances decided to “blow the whistle” on Facebook, through a Wall Street Journal piece that became known as “The Facebook Files”. Since then, Frances has testified before the US Congress and the European Parliament on the fact that algorithmic microtargeting in social media may amplify hate speech and misinformation, thereby increasing polarisation and creating risks for democracy and users’ mental health. Her testimony before the European Parliament gave an important push to the approval of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which among others deems to make online platforms accountable for detecting and addressing systemic risks of their services.