Facebook has been accused of harming children by a whistleblower who has released thousands of documents.
Frances Haugen, 37, a former product manager at the social media giant is speaking out.
Testifying to Senators today at an internet safety hearing on Capitol Hill she said: “I believe that Facebook ’s products harm children, stoke division, weaken our democracy and much more.
“The company’s leadership knows ways to make Facebook and Instagram safer and won’t make the necessary changes because they have put their immense profits before people. Congressional action is needed.”
Earlier, appearing on US TV show 60 Minutes, she shared documents showing Facebook was aware of problems with its apps, including the negative effects of misinformation and the harm caused, especially to young girls, by Instagram.
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Facebook vehemently hit back against her claims calling many "misleading" and arguing that its apps do more good than harm.
“Our teams have to balance protecting the ability of billions of people to express themselves openly with the need to keep our platform a safe and positive place,” spokesman Lena Pietsch said.
The company was today still reeling from a seven-hour outage across its Facebook, Instagram and What’s App platforms that wiped £35.5 billion from its share value.
