Facebook Leak: MEP Calls for Regulation of Business Model

Investigation Demanded Following Facebook Whistleblower Leaks

Members of the European Parliament, leading and contributing to a significant overhaul of the EU’s digital regulations, have requested an inquiry in response to disclosures made by a Facebook whistleblower.

Calls for Addressing Harmful Business Models

One Member of the European Parliament (MEP) has also advocated for upcoming EU regulations to directly address business practices that prioritize “disinformation and violence” over accurate information.

Engagement with Frances Haugen

In a collaborative declaration, Christel Schaldemose, the lead rapporteur for the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), and Alexandra Geese, a shadow rapporteur for the Greens/EFA, confirmed they are communicating with Frances Haugen, the former Facebook employee who became a whistleblower.

Revelations from the 60 Minutes Interview

During an interview broadcast on 60 Minutes, Haugen identified herself as the source of numerous recent leaks to The Wall Street Journal. These leaks detailed internal documents, including findings that Instagram potentially exacerbated anxiety and body image concerns among teenage girls. They also revealed that Facebook implemented policy exceptions for prominent individuals.

Concerns Over Self-Regulation by Big Tech

The MEPs emphasized that these leaks demonstrate that large technology companies should not be permitted to continue self-regulation.

The Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act

Last December, the EU’s executive branch initiated a substantial revision of the digital rulebook, introducing the DSA and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DMA specifically targets the market dominance of major tech companies. This action began a process of ongoing negotiations between EU institutions to refine and adopt legislation aimed at increasing platform accountability.

Parliamentary Support Crucial for Passage

The approval of the European Parliament is essential for the digital policy packages to become law. Given the recent revelations concerning Facebook, Geese is likely to join others in advocating for more stringent measures than those initially proposed by the Commission.

Lack of Responsible Self-Regulation

Schaldemose stated that major tech companies have proven they are “simply not capable” of responsible self-regulation.

Need for Democratic Oversight and Transparency

“The governance of our shared online spaces must be conducted through democratically controlled institutions, mirroring the established practices in non-digital aspects of society. We must require transparency from technology companies and grant access to civil society, legislators, and academic experts to examine the foundations of their algorithms. This is the only path towards a public discussion regarding the impacts of these algorithms,” she added.

The Threat to Democratic Discourse

“Today, the leaked files demonstrate arbitrary protections for celebrities and a significant focus on negative, misleading, and divisive content. This threatens to undermine the democratic conversation that social media platforms once promised to enhance. To preserve this potential and ensure all voices are heard, we must impose firm requirements on the companies governing these spaces.”

Strengthening the DSA

Geese advocated for strengthening the DSA in light of Haugen’s disclosures, asserting that the revelations are transformative and support the regulation of entire business models that profit from amplifying disinformation at the expense of factual reporting.

Gratitude for Haugen’s Courage

“I am deeply thankful for the whistleblower’s bravery, which provides us with the insights needed for effective legislation. The timing of these revelations is particularly crucial for the work on the DSA,” Geese stated. “The extensive documentation and the whistleblower’s profound expertise are remarkable. Previously, neither the public nor lawmakers have had such comprehensive access to the mechanisms that have become excessively powerful. The documents finally present all the facts, enabling us to adopt a more robust Digital Services Act.”

Content Moderation and Transparency Obligations

“This situation reinforces my belief that we require strong rules for content moderation and extensive transparency obligations in Europe. In a democracy, we cannot accept an internet where some individuals can promote violence and hatred despite the rules, while others have legitimate content removed by automated filters.

Regulating the System and Business Model

“We must regulate the entire system and the business model that favors disinformation and violence over factual content – and facilitates its rapid spread. Consistent enforcement across Europe is also essential. It is unrealistic to rely on corporate self-regulation and responsibility. As elected officials, we have a responsibility to protect democratic discourse and must fulfill it through the legislative process.”

Concerns Raised by Political Parties

During her 60 Minutes interview, Haugen discussed a complaint submitted to Facebook in 2019 by major political parties across Europe. These parties expressed concerns that Facebook’s algorithmic preferences were forcing them to adopt more extreme positions in their communications and that this was detrimental to society.

“You are forcing us to take positions that we don’t like, that we know are bad for society, we know if we don’t take those positions we won’t win in the marketplace of social media,” Haugen summarized the parties’ concerns.

Facebook’s Response

Facebook was contacted for a response to the MEPs’ joint statement. In a statement to Reuters, the company reiterated its standard position, stating that it “has been advocating for updated regulations where democratic governments set industry standards to which we can all adhere”.

Frustration with Lack of Response

Haugen explained that she decided to become a whistleblower after becoming frustrated with Facebook’s lack of response to these concerns and the company’s prioritization of financial performance over changes to its content-sorting algorithms that could mitigate the platform’s polarizing effects.

Engagement Over Emotional Response

“Facebook has thousands of [content] options it could show you. And one of the consequences of how Facebook is picking out that content today is it optimizing for content that gets engagement or reaction. But its own research is showing that content that is hateful, that is divisive, that is polarizing — it’s easier to inspire people to anger than it is to other emotions,” Haugen also told 60 Minutes.

Previous Vote on Behavioral Ads

A year ago, the European Parliament supported a call for stricter regulations on behavioral advertising – the type that powers Facebook’s content-sorting social media business – advocating for less intrusive, contextual advertising and urging EU lawmakers to consider phasing out, potentially leading to a complete ban.

Growing Momentum for Tougher Regulations

With increasingly concerning revelations emerging from Facebook – seemingly on a weekly basis – support within the European Parliament for taking a more assertive stance on engagement-based business models could well increase.

Zuckerberg’s Difficult Reception

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg received a cool reception from MEPs in 2018 during his last in-person, publicly streamed meeting with the institution, following the Cambridge Analytica data misuse scandal.

Commission’s Position on Regulation

Asked about the MEPs’ statement, a Commission spokesperson told Reuters that its support for regulation is “clear”, adding: “The power of major platforms over public debate and social life must be subject to democratically validated rules, in particular on transparency and accountability.”

Vestager on the Need for Alternatives

Update: European Commission Executive Vice President (EVP), Margrethe Vestager, who also serves as the bloc’s competition chief, also commented on the Facebook outage, stating that it highlights the need for “alternatives and choices in the tech market”.

The Digital Markets Act

She explained that this is what the Commission is aiming to achieve with another legislative proposal introduced last year: the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which establishes ex ante rules for so-called gatekeeper platforms with substantial market power.

Avoiding Reliance on a Few Players

“[We] must not rely on a few big players, whoever they are,” Vestager said, adding: “That’s the aim of DMA.”

The Benefits of Offline Interaction

The prolonged outage of Facebook and its affiliated social media platforms provided Internet users with a welcome respite, she also suggested, stating “sometimes there’s nothing better than talking to each other… just on the phone or … offline.”