Fighting Social Media Giants to Save our Children: A Conversation with Frances Haugen
On October 24, 2023 a bipartisan coalition of 32 US. Attorneys Generals filed a Federal lawsuit against Meta alleging that the company knowingly designed and deployed harmful features at Instagram, Facebook, and its other social media platforms to induce young children and teenagers into addictive and compulsive social media use contributing significantly to a youth mental health crisis. The suit also alleges that Meta has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its platform's use. But in 2021 before these lawsuits, an anonymous employee of Facebook filed a series of complaints with the US. Federal government, claiming that Facebook had been misleading the public and investors about the impact of its services on the mental health of children and young adults. That employee later revealed herself to be Frances Hogan, and she is our guest today. As we enter the holiday season where our kids are likely to spend more time than usual on screens, this conversation is more important than ever.