Facebook delays its work on new products due to the reputational crisis

Facebook has decided to slow down the work of several of its teams in the development and launch of new products due to the reputation crisis that the company is going through, the Wall Street Journal published this Wednesday.

The New York newspaper, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter, explained that company executives have put work on existing products on hold, while more than a dozen people carry out a “Reputation check” of the company.

According to the newspaper, this review would have the objective of examining what criticisms can lead to the products for the social network and “Ensure that these do not negatively affect minors.”

Facebook is in the spotlight around the world after the company’s former employee on Tuesday Frances Haugen testify before a subcommittee of the US Senate that the firm puts its benefits before the safety of users and hides that its platforms are harmful to minors, promote social division and weaken democracy.

Haugen, who previously leaked internal company documents to the Wall Street Journal, made a ruthless portrait of the company before the Senate, because during the time he was working on it he realized a “devastating truth”: Facebook hides information from the public and to the governments.

“The documents I have provided to Congress prove that Facebook has repeatedly misled the public about what its own research reveals about the safety of children, the efficacy of their artificial intelligence, and their role in spreading divisive and extremist messages.”said the informant.

For his part, the CEO and co-founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, denied that his company puts benefits before the safety and well-being of users, saying that “many of the accusations make no sense ” and that he does not recognize “The false image of the company that is being painted.”

“At the core of these allegations is the idea that we prioritize benefits over safety and well-being. That is simply untrue “Zuckerberg wrote on his account on the social network.

Source: EFE