Senators grilled Facebook exec Antigone Davis at a hearing about Instagram's impact on teens and were frustrated by her reticence to answer questions directly

Last night, Facebook published two annotated slide decks in an attempt to contextualize the documents that the Wall Street Journal published … Source: Senate Commerce Committee .

TechCrunch 2021-10-01 Amanda Silberling

Discussion

@zamaan_qureshi Zamaan Qureshi on x
Here Senator Blumenthal perfectly explains what “finstas” are (fake instas). He's seen documents from the FB whistleblower which indicates FB sees a business proposition in users creating second, private accounts sometimes without the knowledge of parents. THIS IS IMPORTANT. http…
@morroweric Eric Morrow on x
Sen. Blumenthal asks Facebook “Will you commit to ending Finsta?” Facebook's safety chief has to explain that Finsta is slang for a fake account. https://twitter.com/...
@willoremus Will Oremus on x
Sen. Blumenthal, stern-faced, asked Facebook's Antigone Davis, “Will you commit to ending Finsta?” Davis explained that it's slang for a fake account—not an official Instagram product or service.
@doctorow Cory Doctorow on x
The mainstream critique of Facebook is surprisingly compatible with Facebook's own narrative about its products. FB critics say that the company's machine learning and data-gathering slides disinformation past users' critical faculties, poisoning their minds. 1/ https://twitter.c…
@accountabletech @accountabletech on x
NEW AD: Does Mark Zuckerberg expect his girls to be proud of him for covering up internal research on Instagram's harms to kids? We deserve to know the truth of Facebook's cover-up. Congress must #InvestigateFB now. https://twitter.com/...
@willoremus Will Oremus on x
Here's the full exchange. Unlike Sen. Orrin Hatch in 2018 (who was mocked based on a clip that was taken out of context to suggest he didn't know Facebook runs ads), the longer clip in this case doesn't really get any less awkward for Sen. Blumenthal. https://twitter.com/...
@quicktake Bloomberg Quicktake on x
Sen. Blumenthal: “Will you commit to ending Finsta?” Facebook safety chief: “We don't actually do Finsta. What Finsta refers to is young people setting up accounts where they want to have more privacy” https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@hawleymo Josh Hawley on x
I'm introducing legislation to allow those harmed by ⁦@instagram⁩ and ⁦@Facebook⁩ and any other social media company to sue them. Social media shouldn't profit by exploiting our kids https://www.foxnews.com/...
@klonick Kate Klonick on x
Message from a source who has worked in Trust & Safety for 15+ years: “This Senate hearing is preeeeeetty stupid”
@donie Donie O'Sullivan on x
Wow. @SenBlumenthal said his office set up an Instagram account identifying as a 13-year-old girl. Followed some “easily findable accounts associated with extreme dieting and eating disorders.” And with a DAY Instagram was recommending accounts that promote self-harm.
@thedailyshow @thedailyshow on x
(Matt Gaetz busting through the doors with his tie loose) “DO NOT GET RID OF FINSTA!” https://twitter.com/...
@catalinagoanta Catalina Goanta on x
The entire FB/Insta teen mental health discussion is missing a *very* important element. Yes you've guessed it: influencers. Negative celebrity impact on youth is well documented. It has been happening for decades. W social media what changes is scale&pace https://techcrunch.com/…
@a_amilne @a_amilne on x
Alone in the Forest. He sits and thinks of the things they know, He and the Forest alone together: The springs that come and the summers that go, Autumn dew on bracken and heather, The drip of the Forest beneath the snow ~A.A.Milne #fridaymorning #October1st https://twitter.com/.…
@morningbrew @morningbrew on x
No. This can't be real. Senator Blumenthal repeatedly asks Facebook's security chief “Will you commit to ending Finsta?” https://twitter.com/...
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
Running for office on a pledge to end Finsta
@guyadami Guy Adami on x
These are our elected officials.. embarrassing does not capture the enormity of the current situation https://twitter.com/...
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
An easy dunk but real issue is staff. He is just reading their preparation. Whole point of a committee/staff process is to prepare good questions. It isn't reasonable to expect him to know everything (even for a hearing), but each Sen has 20+ staff. Also Commerce has 75 staff. ht…
@ceciliakang Cecilia Kang on x
Top takeaways: -Facebook has become much more defensive and is doubling down -The regulatory path is totally unclear, even with unanimous outrage -Today's hearing was the warmup for the whistleblower hearing on Tuesday -Where are Mark and Sheryl? https://www.nytimes.com/...
@ceciliakang Cecilia Kang on x
@CaseyNewton @Klonick after many of these hearings, it was very clear how FB's rep would stick to messaging points. the real question is what exactly congress can do to address something as hard/nebulous as instagram's effect on the mental health of teens. what does that law look…
@robertmaguire_ Robert Maguire on x
It's honestly kind of terrifying to know how much impact these tech companies have on our lives and society and to see just how little the most powerful people in the country understand about them. https://twitter.com/...
@thatchristinag Christina Garnett on x
I am begging Congress to come prepared and have any knowledge of Facebook when they ask questions. You want to regulate something when you clearly don't take the time to understand what actually happens. It's embarrassing and also highlights why we should have term limits.
@evan_greer Evan Greer on x
Everyone is dunking on this as Blumenthal just not knowing what Finsta means, but it could be more sinister: when he says 'will you commit to ending that type of account," he's likely referring to ending anonymous accounts or requiring verification / ID, a human rights disaster h…
@alex_lee @alex_lee on x
FINSTAS: the true big tech problem we're not talking about enough https://twitter.com/...
@davejorgenson @davejorgenson on x
Every hearing with Facebook for the past five years has been exactly like this, partially because it's the exact same senators in their 70s and 80s. https://twitter.com/...
@klonick Kate Klonick on x
@CaseyNewton I get it, I totally agree about the evasions & as @ceciliakang said value of putting things on the record But there's a LONG history here of gov't over-rotating on “protecting children” that leads to bad reform that 1) doesn't really help kids; 2) hurts things we val…
@senmarkey Ed Markey on x
Today I questioned Facebook about the company's (paused but should be abandoned) plans to launch a new version of Instagram for kids and the harm that Instagram is already causing. I was not satisfied with the answers I got and I'm officially reintroducing my KIDS Act. https://tw…
@zamaan_qureshi Zamaan Qureshi on x
Ok, here's the dunking clip. Blumenthal's wording could have been better. But we know he knows what finstas are cuz he just told us! With the context, this clips meaning changes. He's concerned about the biz model/parent knowledge. Not that you shit post. https://twitter.com/...
@marshablackburn Sen. Marsha Blackburn on x
Mark Zuckerberg's guiding principle for Facebook is profit. https://twitter.com/...
@ultraviolet @ultraviolet on x
Facebook has a lot to account for, from spreading disinformation during a pandemic to sabotaging the wellbeing of young people and girls. For the sake of young people's future, social media companies and #BigTech must be held accountable. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@yaeleisenstat Yael Eisenstat on x
A plea to those covering Facebook: please stop saying this is more serious because it's not “just a disgruntled former employee” this time (as Blumenthal just did). I get why it's a strong point, but it perpetuates FB's campaign to discredit those of us who spoke out publicly.👇🏽 …
@karenkornbluh Karen Kornbluh on x
members of congress have become more sophisticated.... This week the dam seemed to break [&]...more lawmakers realize that researchers should have access to company data, to assess how services are working. Thx for including my thoughts @ceciliakang https://www.nytimes.com/...
@evan_greer Evan Greer on x
It may be convenient or enticing for lawmakers to pass legislation that they can say is protecting kids. It would be better if they would pass legislation that protects everyone, and helps build a more open, democratic, and safe world for our kids to grow up in.
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
last time a congressional gaffe went viral — “senator, we sell ads” — it became a meme inside of Facebook, an in-joke on how out of touch regulators are. (if memory serves, i believe it was made into laptop stickers). the hubris! different vibe this time https://twitter.com/...
@alex_kirshner Alex Kirshner on x
The first and only time I will ever feel bad for Facebook is watching this woman realize she's going to have to explain what Finsta is to a U.S. senator in a live congressional hearing. I'm not sure I could get through it https://twitter.com/...
@jeneps Jennifer Epstein on x
Before the “finsta” clip everyone's dunking on, Sen. Blumenthal actually explains exactly what finstas are ... https://twitter.com/...
@charlottealter Charlotte Alter on x
I literally have a whole chapter in my book called “Senator, We Run Ads” about how the Senate gerontocracy is incapable of regulating Facebook because most of them are too old to understand it... But “Will You Commit to Ending Finsta” is SO much better https://www.amazon.com/... …
@rebekahktromble Dr. Rebekah Tromble on x
Over and over again Facebook comms and leadership have devalued, undermined, and sidelined these researchers' crucial efforts.
@shiringhaffary Shirin Ghaffary on x
Sen. @AmyKlobuchar asks Davis if she was aware of internal findings in the WSJ before the article came out. After Klobuchar repeatedly presses Davis to answer the question directly “yes or no” — Davis says that she was
@toddtanji Todd Tanji on x
Facebook could not care less about congressional grillings. Its users are too addicted to ever leave. Congress will do nothing to curb its power. And we will all continue to suffer the consequences. https://twitter.com/...
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
@Klonick i think it has been 100 percent better than the average social media hearing
@hacks4pancakes Lesley Carhart on x
Please elect at least 30 more people who understand post-2010 technology and tech culture to congress, post haste https://twitter.com/...
@alibreland Ali Breland on x
lawmakers have generally been good in this hearing about being critical and rebutting facebook's efforts to try to retcon their screw ups that wsj and others have broken https://twitter.com/...
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
All that dunking on the finsta q when seconds before the botched question Blumenthal offers a clear definition of what a finsta is -> https://twitter.com/...
@shiringhaffary Shirin Ghaffary on x
Davis says Facebook's research shows that Instagram is helping teens with many difficult issues they're going through Says that the company has built AI to deal with suicide risk, launched tools for time well spent, and other features to help users w/ mental health issues
@klonick Kate Klonick on x
As in even the people who dislike Facebook and WANT better Trust & Safety for harms at the heart of the hearing think this is just: -completely uninformed at best -political grand-standing at medium -actually counter productive to real reform at worst https://twitter.com/...
@nicolelgill Nicole Gill on x
My daughter isn't a ‘valuable but untapped resource’ for your profits, Mark. https://twitter.com/...
@thedcsentinel @thedcsentinel on x
The worst part about this fuck-up is that it becomes its own headline, crowding out stories about the subject of this hearing: Facebook being aware that its practices send teen girls into depression spirals https://twitter.com/...
@eric_seufert Eric Seufert on x
Its odd to me that people consider this extra context as mitigating the cringeworthiness of Sen Blumenthal's later query as to whether FB will “commit to ending Finsta.” Alt account creation isnt a discrete product or a feature, its a behavior that exists on most social platforms…
@andrewsmith38 @andrewsmith38 on x
personally i love being governed by a bunch of 75 year olds with nine-figure net worths who haven't the slightest fucking inkling about what it's like to exist as a regular human being anymore https://twitter.com/...
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
@Klonick idk it's easy to dismiss all these as ‘pretty stupid’ (and i usually do!) but this one felt productive in specific ways. lots of informed, targeted questions; revealing evasions; and shared bipartisan concerns
@sayhar Sahar Massachi on x
@CaseyNewton @Klonick Honestly, I think it was pretty good, considering. And the trend line is clear too — legislators are learning rapidly. They still should definitely talk more to integrity/trust and safety people, though. That's clear.
@shiringhaffary Shirin Ghaffary on x
Sen. @MarshaBlackburn throwing some shade: “I want to congratulate you on the perfectly curated background on the screen...I wish the message you were giving us was equally as attractive.”
@giladedelman Gilad Edelman on x
When asked whether Facebook will retaliate against the whistleblower, Antigone Davis repeatedly says it won't retaliate against her “for coming to the Senate”—pointedly leaving open the possibility of retaliating against her for leaking to the WSJ.
@eric_seufert Eric Seufert on x
2/ That Facebook (or any social media platform) put an end to alt accounts is a big ask; how could that be enforced without requiring real identity verification? It'd be quite radical to suggest that all social media platforms do that! Anonymity is often an attractive feature
@shiringhaffary Shirin Ghaffary on x
Senate subcommittee on consumer protection is holding a hearing about Facebook, Instagram, and mental health harms today, following the WSJ reporting. Facebook's global head of safety @DavisAntigone will testify. Will thread live updates here.
@issielapowsky Issie Lapowsky on x
The thing about FB saying they'll intervene when teens linger on a certain content is: When I was a teen feeling bad about myself because, idk, AIM chats, the cold hand of a corporate nudge wouldn't have made me feel better. I wanted peer validation. Not sure how this solves that
@shiringhaffary Shirin Ghaffary on x
“Instagram is that first childhood cigarette,” says @SenMarkey “Facebook is just like Big Tobacco, pushing a product that they know is harmful to the health of young people, pushing it to them early”
@amyklobuchar Amy Klobuchar on x
Companies like Facebook are not doing enough to protect our kids. Why didn't Facebook act when its research showed Instagram was harming teens? How far are they willing to go before drawing a line between profit and the safety of our children?
@natematias J. Nathan Matias on x
Tech companies want to promote the idea that regulators are inept and can't do reasonable regulation. Reporters and audiences *love* a gaffe. Don't fall for it. https://twitter.com/...
@sayhar Sahar Massachi on x
A big takeaway the world should get from this reporting by @JeffHorwitz & co is that there exist amazing researchers (and engineers, data scientists, etc) at these companies. We work tirelessly to figure out problems, how to fix them, how to build better. And we have answers!
@willoremus Will Oremus on x
Best guess at what happened here: Blumenthal's staff (which overall has been pretty good in this stuff) understands finstas, and his prepared remarks reflect that. The senator himself gets the gist of the problem but mistook a common user practice for an actual Instagram feature.
@ashk4n Ashkan Soltani on x
Super important from @zamaan_qureshi This context important (and puts the focus back on the fact that @facebook permits kids to create accounts without parental consent) https://twitter.com/...
@jkosseff Jeff Kosseff on x
Will Twitter commit to ending the ratio? https://twitter.com/...
@marshablackburn Sen. Marsha Blackburn on x
Facebook has both a legal and a moral obligation to stop collecting and using children's data. https://twitter.com/...
@z_everson Zach Everson on x
If every member of the Senate panel holding today's Facebook hearing who received a campaign donation from Facebook recused themselves, the only one left would be Ed Markey. 3/ https://www.forbes.com/...
@eric_seufert Eric Seufert on x
“Senator, we are committed to replacing Finsta with its much more secure and consumer-friendly alternative, Updog” https://twitter.com/...
@conspirator0 @conspirator0 on x
In context, this specific Blumenthal clip is less goofy than it first appears, but there've enough instances of members of Congress saying wildly incoherent things at tech hearing that I think the general point stands. https://twitter.com/...
@klonick Kate Klonick on x
Fun IN Senate Testimony with Antigone
@sayhar Sahar Massachi on x
What I'm hearing seems to be: “This research has fueled numerous product changes. It is also our official position that it is dogshit and not representative of experiences on IG” This is just insulting! Insulting to the hard work of integrity researchers in the company.
@kattenbarge Kat Tenbarge on x
If you wondered why there are no regulations for child influencers it's because our elected representatives are too busy trying to figure out what “finsta” means https://twitter.com/...
@karissabe Karissa Bell on x
Hard to overstate how much a difference it makes for hearings like this now that Congress has access to 1000s of internal FB docs. It forces Facebook to downplay the significance of its own research... how many times did Antigone Davis say “this is not bombshell research”
@polialertcom Poli Alert on x
Blumenthal: well finsta is one of your products or services, we're not talking about Google, or Apple, its Facebook, correct? Davis: finsta is slang for a tye of account. Blumenthal: will you end that type of account? https://twitter.com/...
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
This line of question from Sen Luján asking if the company collects data on U13 users (a la shadow profiles) is like a twisting knife. Antigone Davis just returns to her talking points, but it is clearly an uncomfortable set of questions she doesn't really answer.
@willoremus Will Oremus on x
This was a classic moment of cluelessness from a Senator, but also, the fact that some senators are clueless about how social media works seems a poor reason to keep the status quo of laissez-faire regulation. Zuck scored points w/ “Senator, we run ads” in 2018 yet here we are.
@alexstamos Alex Stamos on x
@CaseyNewton @Klonick The problem is that Davis works on adversarial child safety: CSAM, grooming, sextortion, etc... The hearing focused on the weighing of priorities by product and leadership, which in the IG world means Mosseri's decisions. Sending Davis as the sacrificial lam…
@ceciliakang Cecilia Kang on x
@CaseyNewton @Klonick i agree that it's not stupid. i think one strategy was to get Davis to say under oath what FB knows and what was withheld for public ahead of whistleblower hearing.
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
This Senate hearing on Facebook is tiresome. Yes, we get it. FB is bad, they are a bunch of liars and thugs. That should have been clear when they did a genocide. Legislate! Ban surveillance ads! Strengthen antitrust! At this point the fault is the cops for not stopping Zuck.
@willoremus Will Oremus on x
To be precise: This is what happens when you build a *user-generated content* platform based on algorithmic recommendations whose highest value is growth. The UGC part removes human judgment from what gets published; the algorithm removes human judgment from what gets amplified h…
@lauraedelson2 Laura Edelson on x
So now it is abundantly clear. @JeffHorwitz and the @WSJ weren't cherry-picking, but actually only reporting the tip of the iceberg. If you're a teen or tween who struggles with mental health issues, IG is not a safe place. And many young people are struggling. 1/
@ekp Ellen K. Pao on x
Researchers at Facebook went through the trouble to put together a damning set of slides about how Instagram harms girls, and apparently no one in leadership did anything https://twitter.com/...
@mmasnick Mike Masnick on x
I am assuming that Facebook haters will (wrongly) assume this post defends FB, while FB defenders will (wrongly) see this as me being unfair to FB. So, everyone should hate this article where I (once again) try to add in some nuance. https://www.techdirt.com/...
@jonlovett Jon Lovett on x
Still thinking about the presentation at Facebook where someone says “Our platform turns teen girls into grieving widows mourning the death of their own self-esteem.” I guess that meeting wraps and everyone just goes to their next zoom?
@justinhendrix Justin Hendrix on x
Good read from Mike. Though, I'd add: the instinct to perpetually assure the world that FB has all these things under control and is surely doing all it conceivably can and investing an awful lot.... comes from the top. Mark can't admit he doesn't have a handle on it all. https:/…
@marklittlenews Mark Little on x
“Decently smart, and decently competent people... who have ended up in an impossible situation and don't recognize that they can't solve it all alone” This wonderfully nuanced take from ⁦@mmasnick⁩ will reward your attention. https://www.techdirt.com/...
@rezendi Jon Evans on x
“None of this is to say that this is okay, or that Facebook shouldn't be trying to figure out ways to minimize people using the sites being made to feel worse about themselves. But the reporting decisions here do raise some questions.” https://www.techdirt.com/...
@joshelman Josh Elman on x
Wow this is a great take on Facebook. In too deep seems just right. No platform has ever connected the world at this scale beyond the major religions. https://twitter.com/...
@lauraedelson2 Laura Edelson on x
Also, I am just in awe of the bravery of the whistleblower who leaked this. We all owe this person a serious debt.
@jesselehrich Jesse Lehrich on x
lmao. @mmasnick's entire schtick is mocking anyone who supports tech reforms as obvious, pathetic idiots. yet when Facebook's own research shows it exacerbates *teen suicide* (!!) Mike waxes poetic about how nobody is willing to be nuanced anymore. 🤔 https://www.techdirt.com/... …
@lauraedelson2 Laura Edelson on x
If you worked on this research, thank you. It's robust and tells us things that are vitally important to know. The fact this work got buried is shameful. And those annotations... did the tobacco companies throw their own scientists under the bus this hard? I don't think so.
@jgreenblattadl Jonathan Greenblatt on x
With the explicit knowledge that their algorithms promote extremism, incite violence, and exacerbate mental health crises, Facebook puts profit over people. 5.8M users can spread hate speech, unchecked, while profits rise to $100B. #StopHateForProfit https://www.adl.org/...
@profgalloway Scott Galloway on x
They knew, in great detail. #Facebook is a menace. https://twitter.com/...
@pt Parker on x
A nuanced take. 🤯 https://twitter.com/...
@kirkpams Cat on x
This is a great read that strikes me as the right nuance. “I think Facebook's executive team (1) is in deeper than they realize, and (2) falsely thinks it has a better handle on things than it really does.” Agreed. With apologies to Rick James, hubris is a hell of a drug. https:/…
@kantrowitz Alex Kantrowitz on x
Facebook could say: The research is right. It's in our long-term interest to keep our users happy, but right now we're failing. At least we're studying it. Give us some time to make the following fixes... Instead: Our researchers are bad and so is the press
@martinfehrensen @martinfehrensen on x
“I don't think the Facebook Files show a company that is evil or incompetent. It seems to show a company that is in way too deep, but still thinks it can totally get things back under control.” - @mmasnick https://www.techdirt.com/...
@katieharbath Katie Harbath on x
This is worth a read: “I don't think the Facebook Files show a company that is evil or incompetent. It seems to show a company that is in way too deep, but still thinks it can totally get things back under control.” https://twitter.com/...
@dseetharaman Deepa Seetharaman on x
“I think Facebook's executive team (1) is in deeper than they realize, and (2) falsely thinks it has a better handle on things than it really does.” https://twitter.com/...
@lauraedelson2 Laura Edelson on x
But there's a clearly visible problem for upper management when you get to the researcher's recommendations: some of the key triggers for NSC they identify (celebrity and unattainable aspirational culture) is the stuff we know to be highly profitable. 3/
@lauraedelson2 Laura Edelson on x
Facebook researchers were working hard to understand exactly why this was. They did some robust research identifying *what* exactly was going on (negative social comparison) and *why* (specific authors and types of content). There are even some ideas for making things better. 2/
@jesselehrich Jesse Lehrich on x
the full slides released by @WSJ are WILD. in this presentation, Facebook researchers explain exactly how & why Instagram drives teen girls into downward spirals of depression in ways that other platforms don't. https://s.wsj.net/... https://twitter.com/...
@60minutes @60minutes on x
She left Facebook concerned, and with copies of thousands of pages of research. Meet the Facebook whistleblower. Scott Pelley reports, 60 Minutes Sunday. https://twitter.com/...
@rebekahktromble Dr. Rebekah Tromble on x
Facebook employs some the smartest, most talented researchers in the world. Many work there because they want to—and genuinely see ways in which they can—do good. I'm really saddened by how readily the company is throwing these researchers under the bus.
@jeffhorwitz Jeff Horwitz on x
So here is a selection of the documents related to teen mental health that we relied on. Facebook just ran two docs — minutes after we gave the company an hour's notice and received a commitment that they wouldn't front-run publication. https://www.wsj.com/...
@georgia_wells Georgia Wells on x
Here are six internal Facebook documents that @JeffHorwitz and I used to report the teen mental health on Instagram story. I'd suggest starting with: TEEN GIRLS BODY IMAGE https://www.wsj.com/...
@jeffhorwitz Jeff Horwitz on x
This is a new for me in 2.5 years covering Facebook — I have always been able to rely on the company's word on professional matters, and was told when I started this beat that the old “Front-running the NYT on Russia stuff” move was retired. But circumstances change.
@bobbyallyn Bobby Allyn on x
New: the Facebook whistleblower will be invoking whistleblower protection status, but leading legal experts say that will not stop FB from launching a retaliatory lawsuit against her https://www.npr.org/...
@juliacarriew Julia Carrie Wong on x
Fascinating slide from the WSJ document dump of FB research. Instagram users who follow the Kardashians and Jenners are more likely to feel more negative comparison. Researchers proposed “partnering” with them for a campaign. https://s.wsj.net/... https://twitter.com/...
@althomelandsec @althomelandsec on x
The fact that Congress still can't ask proper questions regarding tech is an embarrassment. https://twitter.com/...
@amandalitman Amanda Litman on x
Basically every tech hearing includes at least one moment in which I am reminded that the average age of the U.S. Senate is 62.9 years old and that has direct implications — for better & for worse — on the way they govern. https://twitter.com/...
@blakehounshell Blake Hounshell on x
The gulf between Capitol Hill and the tech industry is pretty wide, and here's an embarrassing example: https://twitter.com/...
@daveweigel Dave Weigel on x
Time for a special commission to investigate BOFA https://twitter.com/...
@matt_blumenthal Matt Blumenthal on x
Based on the fact that earlier in the hearing he literally explained what Finstas are (~38:00) and how his office created one, it seems pretty clear he understands this https://twitter.com/...
@jeffhorwitz Jeff Horwitz on x
This is the stuff that may deserve the most attention out of the whole bunch. Instagram can argue with its own research methodology, but this is the company's own conception of its relative harm. https://twitter.com/...
@pathedger18 Patrick Hedger on x
The biggest takeaway from today's Facebook hearing, for me at least, is that a lot of Republicans working to limit Facebook's ability to moderate legal content are upset with Facebook for not moderating a lot of legal content.
@karaswisher Kara Swisher on x
It's called receipts https://twitter.com/...
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
it is interesting to see of the different stories Wsj dropped last week, which one really stuck might be the nature of dropping a set of differing topics at once, but also wonder if it's just a long-simmering suspicion that the kids aren't alright somehow
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
Ted Cruz's line of questioning is where I thought this hearing would go: focused on the findings in Facebook's own research and highlighting their brutal language. FB tried to preempt this with the annotated slides last night, but there's only so much that can do optically.
@jesselehrich Jesse Lehrich on x
so Facebook releases 2 decks loaded with annotations dismissing their own internal research hours before a major hearing, feigning “transparency”... ...WSJ promptly calls their BS & then releases 4 additional Facebook decks that informed their reporting. 🙃 https://www.wsj.com/...…
@carlquintanilla Carl Quintanilla on x
Meanwhile, Blumenthal says, “The more I know, the more repulsed I am by what I've seen.” Bipartisanship lives. $FB https://twitter.com/...
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
FB: this research is anecdotal FB exec: in my past life
@jeffhorwitz Jeff Horwitz on x
There are other unreported stories in here! User research exploring which celebrities' content makes people feel good about themselves and which do not. And no, this isn't “causal.” It's UX research. https://twitter.com/...
@jeffhorwitz Jeff Horwitz on x
Finally: getting these documents clean and privacy concern-free takes a lot of time and resources it turns out. Really grateful to colleagues who made it happen.
@jeffhorwitz Jeff Horwitz on x
Also, if you're looking to actually review the documents we wrote our story off of — we made far more of those available than the two slide decks that FB rushed out. And none of the annotations undermine FB's mental health researchers!
@ceciliakang Cecilia Kang on x
Just read these documents, which included material FB did not include in its document dump tonight. Totally eye-opening and 👏 to @WSJ for releasing https://twitter.com/...
@davidakaye David Kaye on x
the granularity of FB's research into American teen usage is impressive (& depressing, of course) - and just makes me want to see evidence of that same granularity in every one of the company's markets worldwide. https://twitter.com/...
@digitalprivacy @digitalprivacy on x
the WSJ “Facebook Files” is a must read. there is still a bit of fight left in traditional long form (print) media. what the story reveals is the lack of fundamental ethics in FB top management. and that won't change. /P. https://twitter.com/...
@zamosta Aaron Zamost on x
If you're the comms person who front-ran the WSJ after telling them you wouldn't, I have to assume someone senior overruled you, at which point you have no choice but to resign. https://twitter.com/...
@sfpelosi Christine Pelosi on x
Why doesn't @facebook just stop the shenanigans and release ALL the docs? They put their name @ChanZuckerberg all over public hospital spaces — all the while hiding their negative impact on people's mental health from the public. #Shame https://twitter.com/...
@issielapowsky Issie Lapowsky on x
Watching the Instagram/Facebook teen mental health hearing and Blumenthal starts off talking about an experiment his own office ran to see what Instagram would recommend if they posed as a 13-year-old girl who followed accounts associated with eating disorders. https://twitter.co…
@georgia_wells Georgia Wells on x
Facebook published two of these slide decks about half an hour after we went to them for comment about the documents we planned to publish.
@fbnewsroom @fbnewsroom on x
Today we provided Congress with the research decks that were the primary focus of the Wall Street Journal's mischaracterization of internal Instagram research on teenagers and well-being. We published these two research decks with annotations here: https://about.fb.com/...
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
In talking to current and former employees at Facebook, one of the takeaways from them based on this is that the company is ready to throw its own researchers under the bus to save itself. https://twitter.com/...
@andymstone Andy Stone on x
As @nickclegg pledged on Monday, today we released the internal research that was the focus of the Wall Street Journal's story on teens and Instagram. https://about.fb.com/...
@npr @npr on x
Senators grilled a Facebook official today — accusing the company of putting profits ahead of children's wellbeing and concealing the harms that its apps pose to young people. The hearing came days after Facebook “paused” work on an app for kids under 13. https://www.npr.org/...
@stevekovach Steve Kovach on x
These annotations are just incredible. Completely divorced from reality. And that's the strategy. Facebook communications under Clegg has an audience of one: Mark Zuckerberg. So we get stuff like this. https://twitter.com/...
@hawleymo Josh Hawley on x
Take a look here at @Facebook's own internal research showing @instagram is toxic for teenagers, especially teen girls https://www.theverge.com/...
@dlauer Dave Lauer on x
Within a day, an account posing as a 13 y/o girl with body image issues was being fed content promoting self-injury. This what FB's “AI” is doing @ylecun. FB is too powerful. It must be broken up. The time for debate and discussion is done. The alternative is sci-fi dystopia. htt…
@willoremus Will Oremus on x
This is Instagram working as intended. And it isn't just Instagram. This is simply what happens when you build a platform based on algorithmic recommendations in which the highest value is growth/engagement. https://twitter.com/...
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
Watching the Facebook hearing and it's worth noting the co sent a lieutenant instead of a leader. Instagram head Adam Mosseri had time for the Met Gala and Today Show, but not lawmakers. Zuckerberg's only response to reporting has been about his surfboard. https://www.nytimes.com…
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
I just asked a Facebook spokesperson if they front-ran the WSJ by publishing the annotated documents, knowing that the Journal was about to publish their sets of slides. They declined to comment.
@shiraovide Shira Ovide on x
It feels like now there will be endless fights about the meaning of research slides. Does that distract from the big question: What *should* be done to maximize the good from Facebook & Instagram and minimize the harm? https://www.nytimes.com/...
@donie Donie O'Sullivan on x
Didn't think it would be possible to feel bad for a Facebook executive. But it really should be Adam Mosseri the head of Instagram testifying tomorrow before Congress, not Ms. Davis. https://twitter.com/...
@willoremus Will Oremus on x
For a big PR shop like Facebook's, front-running a reporter's story when they come to you with a heads-up or request for comment is an act of contempt or desperation. You win some short-term control of the narrative at the cost of journalists being able to trust you ever again. h…
@lam_barrett Lindsey Barrett on x
you ever physically feel sweat dripping off a quote https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@jesselehrich Jesse Lehrich on x
Clegg promised this research out of transparency. he said FB was just crossing Ts & dotting Is. but really it was going through 20 layers of PR so they could deploy it as a comms offensive on the eve of the harms-to-kids hearing.
@jeffhorwitz Jeff Horwitz on x
I second this! I am going to highly recommend EVERYONE read Facebook's annotations dismissing its own research and stating that the exec presentation slides should not be interpreted as saying the things they actually say. You need to check this out! Click through to the docs! ht…
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
The last time Facebook front-ran a story like this was ........ Cambridge Analytica https://twitter.com/...
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
“The headline should be clarified to be: ‘Teens who have lower life satisfaction more likely to say Instagram makes their mental health or the way they feel about themselves worse than teens who are satisfied with their lives.’” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
The annotations on this research calls the findings and how they were presented “myopic” in one instance. On another slide, the company calls into question the very definition of “mental health.” Imagine being a PhD who goes to work at Facebook and getting called out this way.
@mbfhunzaker Mary Beth Hunzaker on x
Perhaps, if FB execs gave as much scrutiny to potential integrity risks in new feature launches as they do to subtitle phrasing in leaked research decks... We wouldn't all be here dealing with these problems? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@washingtonpost @washingtonpost on x
Facebook releases documents about its products' effects on adults' and teens' mental health as lawmakers gear up to deliver the company a brutal rebuke at a Capitol Hill hearing https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

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Senators grilled Facebook exec Antigone Davis at a hearing about Instagram's impact on teens and were frustrated by her reticence to answer questions directly

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