Online Security Regulation, Facebook And Other Major Social Networks Will Be Banned.
Written byTimes Magazine
Key Sentence:
- Facebook reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings as it continued to face insufficient pressure due to leaked internal documents.
- The social media giant made $9 billion (£6.5 billion) in profit in the three months to September, compared with $7.8 billion a year earlier.
This comes amid new allegations of unethical behavior by former employees. Francis Haugen posted an internal cache of documents, claiming that Facebook puts profit above consumer safety. According to multiple media reports, the document shows that Facebook is struggling to moderate content that encourages hate speech and sex trafficking outside the United States.
On Monday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors during a conference call, "What we are seeing is a coordinated effort to use leaked documents to misrepresent our company selectively." In the 12 months to September 30, the social media giant announced that its monthly user base grew 6% to 2.91 billion.
However, despite the substantial gains, earnings slightly exceeded analyst expectations amid "headwinds" caused by Apple's privacy policy. Facebook said the privacy update would also affect its digital business in the last quarter of this year but expects it to adjust to changes over time.
The company said it would spend about $10 billion this year on its Meta-Universe division - known as Facebook Reality Labs - which aims to build hardware, software, and content using augmented and virtual reality.
Media caption, Watch: Francis Haugen tells lawmaker Facebook is "undeniably" exacerbating hate. The warning, first published by the Wall Street Journal, only added to the pressure. These include internal research on Instagram's impact on adolescent mental health, whether the Facebook platform fuels the split, and how the social media giant dealt with the January 6 Capitol Rise.
At Monday's hearing, Haugen told British lawmakers that Facebook "unquestionably exacerbates hate."
He said Facebook's security team was under-resourced and that "Facebook wouldn't even accept a small profit sacrificed for security." Lawmakers consider which new rules should be introduced for major social networks as part of planned online security law.
But during his conference call, Zuckerberg said, "Careful criticism helps us get better, but I believe we are witnessing a coordinated effort to use leaked documents to misrepresent our company selectively. "The reality is that we have an open culture that encourages discussion and research about our work so that we can make progress on very complex issues that are not specific to us.
Despite the accusations, Facebook shares rose 1.3% on Monday after business hours. The company's shares are up about 20% so far this year.
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