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Facebook chooses profit over children's safety, whistleblower says
Frances Haugen, a former product manager for Facebook, testified before a Senate committee investigating online safety for children, revealing the company's practice of choosing profit over actions that would further protect users. Haugen provided the committee with documents that she said "prove that Facebook has repeatedly misled us about what its own research reveals about the safety of children, its role in spreading hateful and polarizing messages, and so much more."
WASHINGTON - Facebook is paying a $4.75 million fine and up to $9.5 million to eligible victims to resolve the Justice Department’s allegations that it discriminated against U.S. workers in favor of foreigners with special visas to fill high-paying jobs.
Facebook also agreed in the settlement announced Tuesday to train its employees in anti-discrimination rules and to conduct more widespread advertising and recruitment for job opportunities in its permanent labor certification program.
The department’s civil rights division said Facebook "routinely refused" to recruit, consider or hire U.S. workers, a group that includes U.S. citizens and nationals, asylees, refugees and lawful permanent residents, for positions it had reserved for temporary visa holders. Facebook sponsored the visa holders for "green cards" authorizing them to work permanently.
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Social Media Expert: Facebook outages and whistleblower in court
Former Facebook product manager-turned-whistleblower Frances Haugen's testified to the Senate Commerce Committee, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security.
It is the largest civil penalty and backpay award ever recovered by the civil rights division in the 35-year history of enforcing anti-discrimination rules under the Immigration and Nationality Act, officials said.
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"Facebook is not above the law and must comply with our nation’s civil rights laws," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke told reporters in a telephone conference.
The lawsuit was filed against Facebook last December by the Justice Department.
Facebook also agreed in a separate settlement with the Labor Department to expand its recruitment for U.S. workers and to be subject to ongoing audits to ensure compliance.