Frances Haugen admitted that her leaked documents seemed to indicate that Facebook was aware of the harm it could cause to users. (Photo: Gallo Images/Getty Images)
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen said on Wednesday that she was “extremely concerned” about the company’s plan to create a “meta universe”-the virtual reality version of the Internet-due to privacy concerns.
Faced with a series of negative publicity triggered by Haugen’s revelations, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced at the end of last month that he plans to create a digital world that makes people feel like they are using virtual reality technology to face each other.
During a European tour on Wednesday, Haugen said in a speech to the French parliament that she was “very concerned about the metaverse.”
Facebook “wants to fill our environment with sensors, microphones and other ways to monitor us”, and the company’s adoption of this technology will be a “super problem.”
“Let us imagine that you are working from home, and your employer decides’I want to be a meta-universe company,'” she told lawmakers.
“You can’t decide whether Facebook can monitor you, just like you can choose not to use Facebook in your personal life,” she added.
The former Facebook engineer leaked a large number of internal documents to the media, which sparked weeks of criticism of the social media giant’s influence on fragile democracies and vulnerable youth.
When testifying to US and European lawmakers last month, she insisted that Facebook chose profit rather than reducing toxic content, and could not believe the company would change its approach.
Zuckerberg fired back, saying, “It is very illogical to say that we deliberately push annoying content for profit.”
Haugen, a 37-year-old data scientist, also told the French parliament how she has responded to scrutiny and public exposure since identifying herself as the main source of a series of explosive reports in the Wall Street Journal in early October.
“For many whistleblowers, providing psychological support is crucial,” she said, adding that due to the Covid-19 lockdown, she was lucky to move back to live with her mother last year.
“My mother is a pastor, and I have received countless hours of consultation and treatment,” she said.
“Most whistleblowers don’t have that level of support. It is vital to ensure that someone can guide them through the process.”
Facebook reported that its quarterly profit from July to September this year was 9 billion U.S. dollars.
