Blumenthal Statement on the Facebook Papers

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) issued the following release in response to a series of recently published stories known as The Facebook Papers:

“These damning documents underscore that Facebook leadership chronically ignored serious internal alarms, choosing to put profits over people. Facebook is obviously unable to police itself as its powerful algorithms drive deeply harmful content to children and fuel hate. These disclosures demand the full release of the company’s research on the harms to teens and even to our democracy. This resoundingly adds to the drumbeat of calls for reform, rules to protect teens, and real transparency and accountability from Facebook and its Big Tech peers.”

As Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, Blumenthal has spearheaded a series of hearings to inform legislation and prompt action by social media companies to address harms and dangers faced by children online, including recent hearings with Facebook Head of Global Safety Antigone Davis and Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. On Tuesday, October 26 at 10:00 AM ET, Blumenthal will chair the fourth in this series of hearings, with tech companies Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.

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