About

Frances Haugen is an advocate for accountability and transparency in social media. She is a specialist in algorithmic product management, having worked on ranking algorithms at Google, Pinterest, Yelp and Facebook. In 2019, she was recruited to Facebook to be the lead Product Manager on the Civic Misinformation team. During her time at Facebook, Frances became increasingly alarmed by the choices the company makes prioritising their own profits over public safety and putting people's lives at risk. As a last resort and at great personal risk, Frances made the courageous decision to blow the whistle on Facebook. The initial reporting was done by the Wall Street Journal in what became known as “The Facebook Files”. Since going public, Frances has testified in front of the US Congress, UK and EU Parliaments, the French Senate and National Assembly, and has engaged with lawmakers internationally on how to best address the negative externalities of social media platforms. She has also filed a series of complaints with the US Federal Government claiming Facebook (now named ‘Meta’) has been misleading the public and investors on how it handles issues such as misinformation, hate speech, and the impact of its services on mental health.