UK data regulator to investigate Facebook whistleblower allegations


UK Data Protection Watchdog is investigating Facebook whistleblower allegations to see if social networking giants violate UK law.

Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham is studying publicly available testimony by former Facebook employee Frances Haugen on Thursday, demanding that she see all the evidence she has. He also wrote to Haugen.

Hogen accused U.S. tech giant products of “hurting children, causing divisions and undermining democracy,” and accusing executives of refusing to change products to make more money than safe. ..

She created a tens of thousands of pages of internal research documents that she secretly copied before leaving the company.

Denham said he would like to see complete evidence for Hogen to investigate violations of English law, especially in relation to the online protection of children.

“I want to use that information to analyze the information from a British perspective. Do these harms apply to the UK, especially through the lenses of children?” Denham told the BBC News. ..

“We have published a new children’s code that specifies design considerations for protecting children online,” Denham said, after investigating whether any of the allegations indicate a violation of English law. , “Take action,” he added.

Haugen will also submit evidence on October 25 to the UK Parliamentary Commission, which is scrutinizing the draft online safety bill and plans to more tightly regulate high-tech companies and social media.

Facebook rejected Haugen’s allegations, and founder Mark Zuckerberg said her attacks on the company “misrepresented” the company’s work.

He said the company was “deeply interested in issues such as safety, well-being and mental health,” and Hogen’s recent evidence against the US Parliamentary Commission “does not reflect the company we know.” “.

“At the heart of these criticisms is this idea of ​​prioritizing profit over security and happiness. That is not true,” he added.

PA contributed to this report.

Web staff

follow