TLRH | Frances Haugen, Facebook whistle-blower, in conversation with Jess Kelly

Recorded March 21, 2022. Frances Haugen is a data engineer, and
formerly a product manager with Facebook. In 2021, she disclosed
tens of thousands of Facebook's internal documents to the US
Securities and Exchange Commission. In October 2021, she told the
US Congress that Meta's "leadership know how to make Facebook and
Instagram safer, but won't make the necessary changes because they
have put their astronomical profits before people". She has
testified to the US Congress, the European Parliament, the UK
Parliament, and the Oireachtas, that government regulation of Meta
is increasingly necessary. In her conversation with Jess Kelly, she
will discuss what changes Meta can make, and what regulations
legislators can introduce, to make platforms safer. About Frances
Haugen Frances Haugen is a specialist in algorithmic product
management, having worked on ranking algorithms at Google,
Pinterest, Yelp and Facebook. She was recruited to Facebook to be
the lead Product Manager on the Civic Misinformation team, which
dealt with issues related to democracy and misinformation, and
later also worked on counter-espionage. During her time at
Facebook, Ms. Haugen became increasingly alarmed by the choices the
company makes prioritizing their own profits over public safety and
putting people's lives at risk. As a last resort and at great
personal risk, Haugen made the courageous decision to blow the
whistle on Facebook. The initial reporting was done by the Wall
Street Journal in what became known as ‘The Facebook Files.’ Since
going public, Haugen has testified in front of the US Congress, UK
and EU Parliaments, French Senate and National Assembly and has
engaged with lawmakers internationally on how best to address the
negative externalities of online platforms. Haugen has filed a
series of complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) relating to how Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has
allegedly misled the public and investors on issues such as climate
and COVID-19 disinformation. The complaints also argue that the
platform has misled investors about its role in the January 6
Capital attack, hate speech removal, the impact of its services on
teens, and the use of the platform for human trafficking. About
Jess Kelly Jess Kelly is Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent and
hosts Tech Talk on Saturday evenings at 5pm. ​Having worked at
Newstalk for over ten years, Jess’ role has seen her travel across
the globe reporting from some of the biggest conferences in the
world including; CES in Las Vegas, IFA in Berlin and Mobile World
Congress in Barcelona. Jess is an experienced MC and has conducted
interviews with high-profile guests such as YouTube mega-star Casey
Nesitat and former secretary of Homeland Security, Michael
Chertoff. In 2019, Jess Kelly was awarded the Irish Tatler Woman of
the Year Media Award. The event is presented by the Technologies,
Law and Society Research Group in the School of Law, Trinity
College Dublin and the Schuler Democracy Forum in the Trinity Long
Room Hub Arts & Humanities Research Institute. Find out more
here
https://www.tcd.ie/trinitylongroomhub/Schuler-Democracy-Forum.php
Learn more at: https://www.tcd.ie/trinitylongroomhub/