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Frances Haugen to testify to MPs about Facebook and online harm

The Facebook whistleblower is to give evidence to MPs and peers scrutinising the online safety bill, amid calls for a toughening up of the landmark legislation.

Frances Haugen has triggered a deep crisis at Mark Zuckerberg’s social media empire after she released tens of thousands of internal documents detailing the company’s failure to keep its users safe from harmful content. On Monday Haugen, 37, will testify in person at the joint committee scrutinising the draft online safety bill, a piece of legislation that places a duty of care on social media companies to protect users – with the threat of substantial fines if they fail to do so.

Speaking to the Observer before the hearing, Haugen said Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, chief executive and controlling shareholder, had not shown any readiness to protect the public from the harm his company is causing.

“Right now, Mark [Zuckerberg] is unaccountable. He has all the control. He has no oversight, and he has not demonstrated that he is willing to govern the company at the level that is necessary for public safety.”

The online safety bill came into focus last week after the murder of Conservative MP David Amess. Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, demanded criminal sanctions for bosses of digital platforms that fail to crack down on extremism, prompting Boris Johnson to pledge “tough sentences for those who are responsible for allowing this foul content to permeate the internet”.

However, government sources later rowed back on this. The government is holding in reserve the option of introducing criminal sanctions for executives who do not cooperate adequately with Ofcom, the communications regulator implementing the bill. Johnson has also pledged to fast-track the bill.

Earlier this month Haugen told US senators in Washington that Facebook put “astronomical profits before people” as she was questioned about a trove of documents that showed Facebook knew its Instagram photo-sharing app was damaging teen mental health and that its eponymous platform was being used to incite ethnic violence in Ethiopia.

Damian Collins, the Conservative MP and chair of the joint committee, said: “Frances Haugen’s testimony so far has made it even clearer that regulatory oversight of social media platforms, from democratically elected government, is urgently needed. She will bring valuable expertise to the scrutiny process, especially as the bill should empower Ofcom to access and act on the internal research and concerns.”

A new wave of revelations at the weekend from a group of US news publications showed Facebook struggled to contain rightwing misinformation on its platform in the run-up to the insurrection in Washington on 6 January and had been used to spread religious hatred in India. Further stories based on the documents are expected from a wider consortium on Monday.

The joint committee has also heard calls from witnesses for elements of the bill to be toughened. The information commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, has said Ofcom should be given auditing powers to check the inner working of tech companies, including the algorithms that help tailor the content that a user consumes. Haugen is due to speak at 2pm.

Child protection campaigners have also called for the bill to have stronger safeguards for children and criminal sanctions for executives who know that their platforms are putting young people at risk and are failing to act.

On Sunday the BBC broadcast a meeting between Haugen and the father of Molly Russell, a 14-year-old British schoolgirl who killed herself in 2017 and viewed content on social media – including on her Instagram account – linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide before her death. Ian Russell told Haugen: “I look at a huge corporation with massive resources and say, ‘there must be more you can be doing’.”

The online safety bill covers tech firms that allow users to post their own content or to interact with each other, which includes Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and YouTube. Search engines such as Google will also be included as well as commercial pornography sites such as OnlyFans and video games that allow users to talk to each other.

Facebook’s vice-president of content policy, Monika Bickert, said on Sunday the tech industry “needs regulation” because it should not be left to make the rules on issues including harmful online content on its own.

“The UK is one of the countries leading the way with wide-ranging proposals on everything from hate speech to child safety and, while we won’t agree with all the details, we’re pleased the online safety bill is moving forward,” she wrote in the Sunday Telegraph.

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Presidential Spokesman Ajuri Ngelale Proceeds On Indefinite Leave Of Absence

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, has proceeded on an indefinite leave of absence.

Ngelale said the decision was taken after significant consultations with his family over the past days as a vexatious medical situation had worsened.

He made this known in a statement issued on Saturday to the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.

“On Friday, I submitted a memo to the Chief of Staff to the President informing my office that I am proceeding on an indefinite leave of absence to frontally deal with medical matters presently affecting my immediate, nuclear family,” he said.

“While I fully appreciate that the ship of state waits for no man, this agonizing decision — entailing a pause of my functions as the Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity and Official Spokesperson of the President; Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action, and Chairman, Presidential Steering Committee on Project Evergreen — was taken after significant consultations with my family over the past several days as a vexatious medical situation has worsened at home.

“I look forward to returning to full-time national service when time, healing, and fate permit. I respectfully ask for some privacy for my family and I during this time.”

The leave of absence implies that he would temporarily suspend his duties as spokesperson to President Bola Tinubu

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No tenure extension for IGP Egbetokun – Police

The Nigeria Police Force High Command has clarified the rumoured tenure extension for Inspector General of Police, Dr. Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, stating that there was no extension granted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Instead, the law governing the tenure of the IGP’s office was properly applied.

This clarification was made in a statement released on Friday in Abuja by the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Assistant Commissioner of Police, Olumuyiwa Adejobi.

The statement reads, “the attention of the Nigeria Police Force has been drawn to various misleading reports and misinterpretations concerning the tenure of the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, and wishes to categorically state that what His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, approved for the IGP is not an extension of tenure, but rather the proper application of the law governing the tenure of the office of the IGP.

“Contrary to the misinformation being circulated on social media and in the news, an appointment letter in circulation was issued to the IGP shortly after his appointment was confirmed by the Police Council.

This letter, dated 3rd November 2023, clearly stated that the President had approved a four-year tenure for the IGP in accordance with the provisions of Section 215(a) and Section 28(c) of the Third Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

” It is important to emphasize that the IGP does not need to lobby for any tenure extension as his appointment letter explicitly grants him a four-year tenure from the date of his appointment

“The ongoing circulation of false information is clearly the handiwork of pessimists and mischief makers who are determined to spread baseless narratives against the office and the personality of the IGP for obvious reasons and pecuniary gains.

” Furthermore, the IGP has since been issued with another letter in accordance with the provisions of the Police Act, 2020 (as amended), which supersedes the earlier correspondence.

This clarification is necessary to put an end to the speculations and falsehoods being spread.

” We urge the public to disregard the unfounded reports and to trust that the tenure of the IGP is in full compliance with the laws governing the Nigeria Police Force.

In clear terms, IGP’s tenure of office is not subject to unnecessary debate and should not be a source of perennial distraction to policing system in Nigeria. The law is sacrosanct.”

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EFCC grabs 44 for internet fraud in Kwara

Forty-four (44) suspected internet fraudsters were arrested at different locations in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State on Friday by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Spokesperson for EFCC, Dele Oyewale said in a statement on Friday that the suspects were arrested by the operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC.

“They were arrested on Friday September 6, 2024 at Sango, Kulende, Taxaco and Harmony Estate, all in Ilorin, following credible intelligence over their alleged involvement internet- related offences,” the EFCC spokesperson said.

He listed items recovered from the suspects to include six different brands of exotic cars, laptops, smart phones and charms.

The suspects would be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.

The Ilorin Directorate of the anti-graft agency had also arrested 56 suspected internet fraudsters two days ago.