A pure product of Silicon Valley, the former Facebook employee leaked hundreds of embarrassing internal documents for the social media giant in 2021. Frances Haugen decided not to stop there. The engineer announced Thursday, September 22, the launch of an organization responsible for cleaning up social networks.
Entitled Beyond the Screen, this NGO “will focus on concrete solutions to help users regain control of their social media experience”the whistleblower said in a statement.
Its purpose is to provide users with « solutions tangibles » to help them take control of their use of the platforms. “Social media can allow us to give our best, and that’s what Beyond the Screen will work for”she added.
Funding from the boss of OM
According to the press release, the organization will create an open source database to document the legal and ethical breaches of major platforms and identify solutions.
Frances Haugen made a name for herself a year ago by leaking more than 20,000 pages of internal Facebook documents, and hammering before various parliaments that the social network put profits before the safety of its users. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, denies these accusations.
Also listen “Facebook Files”: in the disordered cogs of the company
“We are seeing a coordinated effort to selectively use internal documents to paint a false picture of our company”said boss Mark Zuckerberg during the presentation of the company’s quarterly results in October 2021.
Beyond the Screen is funded by Project Liberty, an initiative of American entrepreneur and Olympique de Marseille owner Frank McCourt, and independent organization Common Sense Media.