Frances Haugen, the former Facebook employee who leaked evidence to the Wall Street Journal of the discriminatory practices carried out by the social media giant [1], testified on 5 October 2021 before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

The hearing threw light on two areas of concern resulting in a split along party lines:
– Firstly, the Democrats decried the proliferation and persistence of Fakes News, while the Republicans railed against the censorship of dissident accounts.
– Secondly, Democrats are contemplating anti-trust measuress (divvying up social media into multiple entities), while Republicans are considering legislation on the use of artificial intelligence.

However, noone seems to have been flustered by the disproportionate amount of political power wielded by Facebook [2].

[1] “Facebook’s 5.8 million privileged users”, Voltaire Network, 15 September 2021.

[2] See our Facebook dossier.