Calls mount for Facebook transparency

[Akira Urushibata]

Criticism is growing against Facebook after former worker Frances
Haugen revealed internal documents and testified before the
U.S. Security and Exchange Commission and U.S. Congress.

For many years observers have been saying that social media platforms
thrive on a business model which uses programs to amplify extreme
views to maximize attention.  Facebook was considered a leader in this
regard.

There is growing consensus that some kind of regulation is necessary.
Some suggest transparency in the form of making algorithms open to
public view.  (See article linked below.)  While free software
advocates have been campaigning for such things for decades, it seems
that the calls for reform and regulation are coming from people
without much knowledge of free software philosophy.

It looks like a nice time to direct people to free software philosophy
documents which discuss the importance of openness.

---

Opinion: Facebook's promises of reform aren't reassuring. They're a
sick joke.
Opinion by Eugene Robinson - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/10/04/facebooks-promises-reform-arent-reassuring-theyre-sick-joke/

  After whistleblower Frances Haugen unleashed a torrent of
  unflattering revelations about Facebook in the Wall Street Journal
  and on CBS's "60 Minutes," the social media giant pledged to "tackle
  the spread of misinformation and harmful content." But as long as
  the social network makes money off such garbage, such a promise
  comes across as a sick joke rather than reassurance.
  
  I've never been a fervent Facebook hater, though I've also never
  been an everyday user. I've spent time with some of Facebook's top
  executives (not including founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg) and I've
  found them to be bright, personable and excellent at projecting
  social consciousness. Their products, however, are very
  different. Haugen's leaks make clear just how vast the gap is
  between the friendly facade and the ugly reality.
 
  Haugen worked at Facebook as part of a team that was supposed to
  figure out how to stop the platform from being used to interfere in
  elections. She left after two years, disappointed and
  disillusioned. After reading the Journal's series of articles and
  watching the "60 Minutes" interview, it's hard to avoid the
  conclusion that "misinformation and harmful content" are a feature
  of the platform, not a bug.