Mark Zuckerberg Responds To Whistleblower's Congressional Testimony

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded to the testimony of a whistleblower who urged a Senate committee to regulate the social media giant. Frances Haugen told Senators that Facebook has done very little to combat misinformation and the harmful impact its apps have on children, suggesting that the social media company continues to "put their astronomical profits before people."

Zuckerberg pushed back against her claims, saying she is misrepresenting the trove of internal data she leaked to the Wall Street Journal and taking it out of context.

"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. At the most basic level, I think most of us just don't recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted," Zuckerberg wrote in a lengthy post on his Facebook page.

"At the heart of these accusations is this idea that we prioritize profit over safety and well-being. That's just not true," he added, citing changes that showed people fewer viral videos and more content from friends and family in their news feed.

He also spoke about claims that Facebook's internal studies have shown that Instagram can be harmful to the mental health of young people, especially girls.

"If we're going to have an informed conversation about the effects of social media on young people, it's important to start with a full picture. We're committed to doing more research ourselves and making more research publicly available," he wrote.

"That said, I'm worried about the incentives that are being set here. We have an industry-leading research program so that we can identify important issues and work on them. It's disheartening to see that work taken out of context and used to construct a false narrative that we don't care. If we attack organizations making an effort to study their impact on the world, we're effectively sending the message that it's safer not to look at all, in case you find something that could be held against you."

Not everybody was thrilled with Zuckerberg's comments. Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal called on Zuckerberg to testify in front of the Senate to respond to Haugen's allegations.

"Mark Zuckerberg ought to be looking at himself in the mirror today, and yet, rather than taking responsibility and showing leadership, Mr. Zuckerberg is going sailing," Blumenthal said. "His new modus operandi: 'No apologies, no admission, no action, nothing to see here. Mark Zuckerberg, you need to come before this committee. You need to explain to Francis Haugen, to us, to the world and to the parents of America what you were doing and why you did it.'"