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://t.co/vCsUKrcEtn

— Poli Alert (@polialertcom) September 30, 2021

i think it has been 100 percent better than the average social media hearing

— Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) September 30, 2021

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?

— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) September 30, 2021

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

— Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/15vKOmSVkl

— Matt Blumenthal (@Matt_Blumenthal) September 30, 2021

Will Twitter commit to ending the ratio? https://t.co/Tb6uGBSeh6

— Jeff Kosseff (@jkosseff) September 30, 2021

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

— Alex Kantrowitz (@Kantrowitz) September 30, 2021

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. pic.twitter.com/J4P2CZZre7

— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) September 30, 2021

FINSTAS: the true big tech problem we’re not talking about enough https://t.co/hBkgfN214R

— Alex Lee 李天明 (@alex_lee) September 30, 2021

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.?? https://t.co/fETKLxjeHc

— Yael Eisenstat (@YaelEisenstat) September 30, 2021

They knew, in great detail. #Facebook is a menace. https://t.co/2r5IRsAVVH

— Scott Galloway (@profgalloway) September 30, 2021

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. #StopHateForProfithttps://t.co/HAmYfJsThS

— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/mXRh6A9iJC

— Andy Stone (@andymstone) September 29, 2021

Before the "finsta" clip everyone's dunking on, Sen. Blumenthal actually explains exactly what finstas are ... https://t.co/cipOCMY5Yp

— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) September 30, 2021

"Facebook published annotated slide decks in an attempt to contextualize the documents that The Wall Street Journal published this month, which reported evidence that the company is aware of its negative impact on teen mental health." https://t.co/8OI2Zvg7Nt

— Diwa Philippines, XL8or ?? (@DiwaPh) October 1, 2021

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.

— Will Oremus (@WillOremus) September 30, 2021

Time for a special commission to investigate BOFA https://t.co/F5kMfqxjSM

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) September 30, 2021

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.

— Patrick Hedger (@PatHedger18) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/4NW0dSNrQJ

— Cecilia Kang (@ceciliakang) September 30, 2021

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 https://t.co/v4NzbUVtKB

— Eric Seufert (@eric_seufert) October 1, 2021

"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." - @mmasnickhttps://t.co/SZriVwJrP2

— martinfehrensen (@martinfehrensen) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/JweURx6Mm8

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/EViUYh3n4c

— ?????? (@andrewsmith38) September 30, 2021

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.

— Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) September 30, 2021

(Matt Gaetz busting through the doors with his tie loose) “DO NOT GET RID OF FINSTA!” https://t.co/3xQ9mkF4nc

— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/QoMGMYox3A

— Amanda Litman (@amandalitman) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/YBVcFvY9dU

— Todd Tanji (@ToddTanji) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/z3MITH9P0h pic.twitter.com/eomdpfNpDJ

— Julia Carrie Wong (@juliacarriew) September 30, 2021

Mark Zuckerberg’s guiding principle for Facebook is profit. pic.twitter.com/HPy2R8Oz6v

— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/jmRncT05sq

— Conspirador Norteño (@conspirator0) October 1, 2021

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://t.co/6oLtE0n0ma

— rat king (@MikeIsaac) October 1, 2021

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.pic.twitter.com/owo2GoyJXy

— Zamaan Qureshi (@zamaan_qureshi) September 30, 2021

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. pic.twitter.com/JzPWWoNOw9

— Accountable Tech (@accountabletech) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/07FDaRADHF

— Steve Kovach (@stevekovach) September 30, 2021

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!

— Sahar Massachi (@sayhar) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/gB4dDB8YFh

— Robert Maguire (@RobertMaguire_) September 30, 2021

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.

— Gilad Edelman (@GiladEdelman) September 30, 2021

She left Facebook concerned, and with copies of thousands of pages of research. Meet the Facebook whistleblower.

Scott Pelley reports, 60 Minutes Sunday. pic.twitter.com/6nPGlQ8nWP

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/NeVpEcwDGP

— Bobby Allyn (@BobbyAllyn) October 1, 2021

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 https://t.co/oxKchfJ16M

— Evan Greer (@evan_greer) September 30, 2021

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

— rat king (@MikeIsaac) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/JZohzix4Pd

— Ryan Mac ? (@RMac18) September 30, 2021

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.

— Georgia Wells (@georgia_wells) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/VieQt2NWTb

— Kate Klonick (@Klonick) September 30, 2021

No. This can’t be real.

Senator Blumenthal repeatedly asks Facebook’s security chief “Will you commit to ending Finsta?”

pic.twitter.com/Usxo3H7jE0

— Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) September 30, 2021

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

— issie lapowsky (@issielapowsky) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/ZfPhUlU0oJ https://t.co/kgKUP0BNg1

— Charlotte Alter (@CharlotteAlter) September 30, 2021

The senator is apparently talking about his "finsta" flub yesterday, which was one of the top trending Twitter topics.

It was a funny moment for sure.

But overall, the questioning from senators, including Blumenthal, in the hearing was the best we've seen yet. https://t.co/VDoTBDhsRh

— Steve Kovach (@stevekovach) October 1, 2021

It’s called receipts https://t.co/NbpYz8WtpX

— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/dn0LCmdiQ4

— Will Oremus (@WillOremus) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/fXWqzYJUQQ

— NPR (@NPR) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/exWPqJTOPf

— Ellen K. Pao (@ekp) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/8U9484SwCX

— District Sentinel (@TheDCSentinel) September 30, 2021

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

— Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) September 30, 2021

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. https://t.co/geCoOakmak pic.twitter.com/NSvLLc3Xc3

— Steven Sinofsky – stevesi.eth (@stevesi) October 1, 2021

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://t.co/p6ZxdsBsZt

— ashkan soltani (@ashk4n) October 1, 2021

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"

— Karissa Bell (@karissabe) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/8CMevqRn4Z pic.twitter.com/Df6wCjkts4

— Jesse Lehrich (@JesseLehrich) September 30, 2021

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.

— Will Oremus (@WillOremus) September 30, 2021

Message from a source who has worked in Trust & Safety for 15+ years:

"This Senate hearing is preeeeeetty stupid"

— Kate Klonick (@Klonick) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/PgEaLT9B4R

— Jeff Horwitz (@JeffHorwitz) September 30, 2021

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. pic.twitter.com/bpH2FU7cQw

— Zamaan Qureshi (@zamaan_qureshi) September 30, 2021

I wrote @nytopinion about some of the long term takeaways for reform that came out of @JeffHorwitz's great Facebook Files series at @WSJ

Special thanks to @alexstamos & @jilliancyork who both gave me great thoughts and/or quotes that unfortunately got cuthttps://t.co/areMqXZZ4y

— Kate Klonick (@Klonick) October 1, 2021

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://t.co/uuu86OYqGQ

— Facebook Newsroom (@fbnewsroom) September 30, 2021

These are our elected officials.. embarrassing does not capture the enormity of the current situation https://t.co/v1vxdtiU1S

— Guy Adami (@GuyAdami) September 30, 2021

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.

— Jeff Horwitz (@JeffHorwitz) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/666QVRuBpw pic.twitter.com/Uug80EG3zu

— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) September 30, 2021

Fun
IN
Senate
Testimony with
Antigone

— Kate Klonick (@Klonick) October 1, 2021

All that dunking on the finsta q when seconds before the botched question Blumenthal offers a clear definition of what a finsta is -> https://t.co/oKCWh9lHk5

— nilay patel (@reckless) September 30, 2021

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/

— Laura Edelson (@LauraEdelson2) September 30, 2021

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.

— Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) September 30, 2021

My daughter isn't a 'valuable but untapped resource' for your profits, Mark. https://t.co/ffAKwAF25T

— Nicole Gill (@nicolelgill) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/sRQNk4VQIZ

— J. Nathan Matias (@natematias) October 1, 2021

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://t.co/AQdfiOZXsG

— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/TBstmgzqbp

— Karen Kornbluh (@KarenKornbluh) September 30, 2021

“Senator, we are committed to replacing Finsta with its much more secure and consumer-friendly alternative, Updog” https://t.co/NKEwVJqdrx

— Eric Seufert (@eric_seufert) September 30, 2021

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.

— Will Oremus (@WillOremus) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/aFJsFQRSov

— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) September 30, 2021

Running for office on a pledge to end Finsta

— Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/LrelkVW5bn

— Washington Post TikTok Guy ? (@davejorgenson) September 30, 2021

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 value

— Kate Klonick (@Klonick) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/OhA3u5u7Jt

— Ali Breland (@alibreland) September 30, 2021

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 like?

— Cecilia Kang (@ceciliakang) September 30, 2021

Facebook has both a legal and a moral obligation to stop collecting and using children’s data. pic.twitter.com/ZbzzptDvR6

— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) September 30, 2021

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?

— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/rKKwbG6DIg

— UltraViolet (Text JOIN to 98688) (@UltraViolet) September 30, 2021

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 IMAGEhttps://t.co/VTDf1AzKHE

— Georgia Wells (@georgia_wells) September 30, 2021

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.

— Evan Greer (@evan_greer) September 30, 2021

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

— Eric Seufert (@eric_seufert) October 1, 2021

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. pic.twitter.com/jMYy5AIZjY

— Eric Morrow (@morroweric) September 30, 2021

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.

— Ryan Mac ? (@RMac18) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/ZkvHQ5qmvE

— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) September 30, 2021

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 pic.twitter.com/CrUAoaQOj6

— A.A.Milne (@A_AMilne) October 1, 2021

Facebook tried to show the receipts, but then there were more receipts. https://t.co/IZnQ4MVv1t

— Slate (@Slate) October 1, 2021

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.

— Sahar Massachi (@sayhar) September 30, 2021

The fact that Congress still can't ask proper questions regarding tech is an embarrassment. https://t.co/DTm3dqvLvo

— AltHomelandSecurity?? (@AltHomelandSec) September 30, 2021

The gulf between Capitol Hill and the tech industry is pretty wide, and here's an embarrassing example: https://t.co/Rpa3NojMK8

— Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) September 30, 2021

"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"

— Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) September 30, 2021

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.

— Dr. Rebekah Tromble (@RebekahKTromble) September 30, 2021

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.

— Sahar Massachi (@sayhar) September 30, 2021

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/ pic.twitter.com/WFaDilhdha

— Cory Doctorow (@doctorow) September 30, 2021

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. pic.twitter.com/D7OyI8vJwo

— issie lapowsky (@issielapowsky) September 30, 2021

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://t.co/5qt92ywFGJ

— Catalina Goanta (@CatalinaGoanta) October 1, 2021

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://t.co/DpNicj7xEb

— Katie Harbath (@katieharbath) September 30, 2021

Over and over again Facebook comms and leadership have devalued, undermined, and sidelined these researchers’ crucial efforts.

— Dr. Rebekah Tromble (@RebekahKTromble) September 30, 2021

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.

— Christina's chaos magic (@ThatChristinaG) September 30, 2021

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

— Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) September 30, 2021

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."

— Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) September 30, 2021

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 lamb was cowardly.

— Alex Stamos (@alexstamos) September 30, 2021

Secrecy is the standard model?!! I guess. Anyway, I'm just looking forward to seeing the whistleblower at the hearing instead. We need more of those moments instead of FB groupies showing up.

Facebook's secrecy boomerang https://t.co/txcFUAzWaw pic.twitter.com/aNA9OhTUe8

— Shireen, Harlem's Shuri, In Political Mecca! (@digitalsista) October 1, 2021

Tech giants, Facebook foremost, are learning a lesson politicians internalized decades ago: Bad news will always come out eventually, and it only gets worse the longer you sit on it. https://t.co/t96NanqaCn

— Axios (@axios) October 1, 2021

Congress is shocked to find gambling in Facebook's casino!https://t.co/Cg0PBqXjke

— Gilad Edelman (@GiladEdelman) September 30, 2021

"Some Facebook critics have accused the company, perhaps hyperbolically, of behaving as if it were a nation-state. Save some criticism for the real nation-state. If Congress won’t govern, Big Tech will." - @GiladEdelman https://t.co/amYyRNwK2D

— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) September 30, 2021

The Senate Is Mad as Hell at Facebook—Again https://t.co/wEWGOsg1wr #CyberSecurity #InfoSec #ITSecurity #DataProtection #CISO #CSO #Technology #SecureTech #InformationSecurity #CyberCrime #CyberAttack

— Ambar Verma ⭐#DigitalXformation ?️#Innovation (@technofactr) September 30, 2021

It's become very fashionable to talk about regulating tech companies like Facebook. But as @GiladEdelman points out in this piece, Congress has passed exactly zero laws to do as much in the three years since it's brought Facebook executives in for hearings https://t.co/U6zAG3DPrF

— Arielle Pardes (@pardesoteric) September 30, 2021

Group of people average age 63, mostly men, yells at cloud https://t.co/1QvKozFPRi

— Tom Simonite (@tsimonite) September 30, 2021

Our 5 takeaways on Facebook's latest hearing, where I argue it was one of Congress's better showings https://t.co/QnDlPpOguW

— Cristiano Lima (@viaCristiano) October 1, 2021

She's reportedly going to reveal her identity on 60 Minutes on Sunday.https://t.co/vKZiZOXxgz

— Caligirl (@caligirlinsf) October 1, 2021

Experts: The #FacebookFiles whistleblower is vulnerable to retaliation despite Congressional pressure to extract a pledge protection from executives. As with all things Facebook, there is only public relations. https://t.co/eQdBLBQgrE

— David Carroll (@profcarroll) October 1, 2021

As the public anticipates hearing directly from the whistleblower, who is believed to have provided the Wall Street Journal with documents as part of its Facebook Files series, a question is stirring debate: Will Facebook retaliate? https://t.co/djytTG9EhY

— NPR (@NPR) October 1, 2021