Whistleblower Frances Haugen Says Meta Unlikely to Change While Zuckerberg Still CEO

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Whistleblower Frances Haugen said during an interview at the Web Summit 2021 in Lisbon on Monday that Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is unlikely to change while Mark Zuckerberg remains CEO of the company.

“I think it is unlikely the company will change if he remains the CEO, and I hope that he can see that there’s so much good he could do in the world and maybe it’s a chance for someone else to maybe take the reigns… I think Facebook would be stronger with someone who is willing to focus on safety,” Haugen said.

Haugen, a former product manager at Facebook, leaked internal documents and told the US Congress that the company was allegedly aware it inflicted harm on the mental health of teenagers, but did not do much to prevent content promoting hate and division, choosing to put profit over users' safety.

Zuckerberg dismissed the accusations, saying the company cares deeply about issues like safety, well-being and mental health.

The company rebranded from Facebook to Meta in order to foster a new public image, but Florida University social media professor Andrew Selepak told Sputnik that the move does not change the name of their biggest money-making product and will not significantly change the perception of the company among users.