Facebook has started slowing down its product development to review them before launch. This is to check if they can damage the company’s reputation and is a direct consequence of whistleblower Frances Haugen’s controversial disclosures, reports Wall Street Journal.
The report says that a team of employees will analyze if their work could damage the company’s reputation. This group is looking at the criticisms Facebook could face as well as its negative impacts on children.
CEO Mark Zuckerburg denied the whistleblower’s accusations on Tuesday saying that they don’t make sense and paint a false picture of the company. He wrote that:
I’ve asked leaders across the company to do deep dives on our work across many areas over the next few days so you can see everything that we’re doing to get there.
These changes show how much Haugen’s disclosures have shaken up the company over the past few weeks. Facebook already halted work on the Instagram Kids app after WSJ reported how Instagram is ill affecting mental health in children.
The pressure is mounting on Facebook now that Haugen, a former product manager, stepped forward and made bombshell accusations against Facebook in interviews and a three-hour Senate hearing this week.
She told lawmakers that Facebook has prioritized its growth over the years over user safety and has also misled its users about its AI-based moderation technology. She urges regulators to impose new regulations on the social network giant and also calls on Facebook to make its research more widely available.
