Frances Haugen will weigh in on potential changes to a federal law that shields online platforms from liability for user-generated content.
Former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen testified before Congress in early October. She returns on Wednesday.
Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager turned whistleblower, is scheduled to testify before US lawmakers for a second time on Wednesday.
The hearing, titled « Holding Big Tech Accountable: Targeted reforms to tech’s legal immunity, » will center on potential legislative changes to Section 230, a 1996 federal law that shields online platforms from liability for user-generated content. The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology is holding the hearing.
Haugen appeared before Congress in October but that hearing focused more on child safety. Haugen leaked a trove of internal research to Congress and the US Securities and Exchange Commission before leaving Facebook in May. The Wall Street Journal published a series of stories, including an article about how the social network’s own research showed Facebook-owned Instagram is « toxic » to teen girls. Facebook, which rebranded itself to Meta, says its research is being mischaracterized. 
Haugen has already expressed support for changing Section 230 so social networks like Facebook are held liable for how it ranks content. The whistleblower will also get the chance to weigh in on several bills US lawmakers have proposed to reform Section 230. 
The hearing will kick off at 7:30 a.m. PT/10:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday. 
The hearing will be streamed on the subcommittee’s website and CNET’s YouTube channel.
Haugen will be testifying alongside a panel of other experts, including Color of Change President Rashad Robinson, Common Sense CEO James Steyer, and Kara Frederick, a research fellow in technology policy at The Heritage Foundation.
A second panel will include legal experts from groups such as the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative and Free Press Action.
Some of the legislative proposals would make internet companies responsible when they use an algorithm to amplify or recommend content that interferes with civil rights or posts that involve international terrorism. Other ideas include removing Section 230 protections for paid advertising.
In prepared testimony, Haugen tells lawmakers that Facebook is aware of the harms its platform causes but doesn’t do enough to combat these problems. Haugen will once again urge lawmakers to take action.
« Facebook wants you to get caught up in a long, drawn-out debate over the minutiae of different legislative approaches. Please don’t fall into that trap. Time is of the essence, » she says in her prepared testimony.

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