Facebook profits rise amid revelations from leaked documents
Menlo Park (AP): Amid fallout from the Facebook Papers documents supporting claims that the social network has valued financial success over user safety, Facebook on Monday reported higher profit for the latest quarter.
The company's latest show of financial strength followed an avalanche of reports on the Facebook Papers a vast trove of redacted internal documents obtained by a consortium of news organisations, including The Associated Press as well as Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen's Monday testimony to British lawmakers.
Facebook said its net income grew 17 per cent in the July-September period to USD 9.19 billion, buoyed by strong advertising revenue.
That's up from USD 7.85 billion a year earlier. Revenue grew 35 per cent to USD 29.01 billion. The results exceeded analyst expectations for Facebook's results.
The company's shares rose 2.5 per cent in after-hours trading after closing up 1 per cent for the day.
For now, the revenue picture for Facebook looks as good as can be expected, said eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson. But she predicted more revelations and described the findings so far as unsettling and stomach-churning.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg made only a brief mention of what he called the recent debate around our company."
Largely repeating statements he made after Haugen's October 5 testimony before a US Senate subcommittee, he insisted that he welcomes good faith criticism but considers the current storm a coordinated effort by news organisations to criticise the company based on leaked documents.
Haugen, meanwhile, told a British parliamentary committee Monday that the social media giant stokes online hate and extremism, fails to protect children from harmful content and lacks any incentive to fix the problems, providing momentum for efforts by European governments working on stricter regulation of tech companies.
While her testimony echoed much of what she told the US Senate this month, her in-person appearance drew intense interest from a British parliamentary committee that is much further along in drawing up legislation to rein in the power of social media companies.
Haugen told the committee of United Kingdom lawmakers that Facebook Groups amplifies online hate, saying algorithms that prioritize engagement take people with mainstream interests and push them to the extremes.
The former Facebook data scientist said the company could add moderators to prevent groups over a certain size from being used to spread extremist views.
Unquestionably, it's making hate worse, she said.
Haugen said she was shocked to hear recently that Facebook wants to double down on the metaverse and that they're gonna hire 10,000 engineers in Europe to work on the metaverse, Haugen said, referring to the company's plans for an immersive online world it believes will be the next big internet trend.
I was like, Wow, do you know what we could have done with safety if we had 10,000 more engineers?' she said.
Facebook says it wants regulation for tech companies and was glad the UK was leading the way.
While we have rules against harmful content and publish regular transparency reports, we agree we need regulation for the whole industry so that businesses like ours aren't making these decisions on our own," Facebook said Monday.
It pointed to investing USD 13 billion (9.4 billion pounds) on safety and security since 2016 and asserted that it's almost halved the amount of hate speech over the last three quarters.
Haugen accused Facebook-owned Instagram of failing to keep children under 13 the minimum user age from opening accounts, saying it wasn't doing enough to protect kids from content that, for example, makes them feel bad about their bodies.
Facebook's own research describes it as an addict's narrative. Kids say, This makes me unhappy, I feel like I don't have the ability to control my usage of it, and I feel like if I left, I'd be ostracised, she said.
The company last month delayed plans for a kids' version of Instagram, geared toward those under 13, to address concerns about the vulnerability of younger users.
Haugen said she worried it may not be possible to make Instagram safe for a 14-year-old and that I sincerely doubt it's possible to make it safe for a 10-year-old.
She also said Facebook's moderation systems are worse at catching content in languages other than English, and that's a problem even in the UK because it's a diverse country.
Those people are also living in the UK and being fed misinformation that is dangerous, that radicalizes people, Haugen said.
And so language-based coverage is not just a good-for-individuals thing, it's a national security issue.
Pressed on whether she believes Facebook is fundamentally evil, Haugen demurred and said, I can't see into the hearts of men. Facebook is not evil, but negligent, she suggested.
It believes in a world of flatness, and it won't accept the consequences of its actions, pointing to its mammoth one-level, open-plan corporate office as an embodiment of the philosophy.
It was Haugen's second appearance before lawmakers after she testified in the US about the danger she says the company poses, from harming children to inciting political violence and fueling misinformation. Haugen cited internal research documents she secretly copied before leaving her job in Facebook's civic integrity unit.
The documents, which Haugen provided to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, allege Facebook prioritised profits over safety and hid its own research from investors and the public.
Some stories based on the files have already been published, exposing internal turmoil after Facebook was blindsided by the January 6 US Capitol riot and how it dithered over curbing divisive content in India. More is to come.
Representatives from Facebook and other social media companies plan to speak to the British committee Thursday.
UK lawmakers are drafting an online safety bill calling for setting up a regulator that would hold companies to account when it comes to removing harmful or illegal content from their platforms, such as terrorist material or child sex abuse images.
Haugen is scheduled to meet next month with European Union officials in Brussels, where the bloc's executive commission is updating its digital rulebook to better protect internet users by holding online companies more responsible for illegal or dangerous content.
Under the UK rules, expected to take effect next year, Silicon Valley giants face an ultimate penalty of up to 10 per cent of their global revenue for any violations. The EU is proposing a similar penalty.
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Cong indulging in anti-national activities, wants illegal immigrants to settle in Assam: PM
Namrup (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, accusing it of engaging in "anti-national" activities and helping illegal Bangladeshi immigrants to settle in Assam.
The PM, addressing a public rally after unveiling a Rs 10,601-crore fertiliser plant at Namrup in Assam's Dibrugarh district, accused the grand old party of opposing the revision of voter list due to its only aim of grabbing power.
"The Congress is indulging in anti-national activities. They want illegal Bangladeshi immigrants to settle in Assam's forests and land. They only want to strengthen their vote bank, and don't care about the people," he claimed.
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Modi said the opposition party is not concerned about the identity, existence and pride of Assamese people, which the BJP has been trying to protect.
"The Congress is opposing the revision of voter lists as it wants to grab power... They oppose whatever good I try to do... The BJP government will always work to protect the identity, land, pride and existence of Assamese people," Modi asserted.
"Assam must be safeguarded from the poison of Congress' appeasement and vote-bank politics. I assure you all that BJP will stand like a shield to protect Assam's identity and honour," he told thousands of people ahead of the assembly polls.
The Assembly polls to 126 constituencies are likely to take place in March-April next.
Underscoring that BJP governments at the Centre and state are for the poor, tribals, youth and women, Modi said it is working to end decades of violence in Assam and the Northeast.
"Our government has always kept Assam's identity and culture paramount, highlighting symbols of Assamese pride on every platform," he added.
Addressing the rally on the second and final day of his Assam tour, the PM alleged that the Congress has inflicted "so much wrongs" to this country that despite "correcting" those for the last 11 years, a lot of work still remained to bring everything on track.
"When our government awarded Dr Bhupen Hazarika the Bharat Ratna, the Congress openly opposed the decision. Its national president remarked that 'Modi nachne gane walon ko Bharat Ratna de raha hai' (Modi is giving Bharat Ratna to dancers-singers), which is an insult to both Bhupen Da and the people of Assam," Modi asserted.
He said the BJP government's aim is to make Assam as powerful as it was during the Ahom dynasty centuries ago.
"Industrialisation and connectivity are fulfilling Assam's dreams. The double-engine government of the BJP is empowering youth to see new dreams," he added.
Continuing its tirade against the Congress, Modi said even when a semiconductor unit was set up in the state, the opposition party went against it.
"It was the opposition government that for decades denied land rights to the tea community brothers and sisters, whereas the BJP government has given them land rights and a dignified life," he added.
Expressing satisfaction at the presence of a huge number of women at the rally, Modi said: "When my mothers and sisters come in such large numbers, it gives me a special feeling. Many sisters have come with tea gardens' flavour and tea's flavour creates a special feeling inside me."
He also informed the crowd that when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India recently, Assam's black tea was gifted to the VIP.
"We facilitated the opening of Jan Dhan accounts for 7.5 lakh tea garden workers in Assam. Funds can now be transferred directly to their accounts, ensuring greater transparency and efficiency. The BJP government is also working to improve basic amenities in tea garden regions," the PM said.
Stating that India cannot develop without Northeast's progress, he said everyone is lauding Assam's development momentum nowadays.
"The benefits of development have reached the poor in far-flung areas of the country. Due to our relentless efforts, 25 crore people have been taken out of poverty and a neo-middle class has been created in India," Modi asserted.
The PM pointed out that fresh data has come which symbolises the changes taking place in the country.
"Earlier, among the poorest families in villages, only one in 10 had a bike. Now, nearly half the families in villages own a bike or a car. Mobile phones have reached almost every household and items like refrigerators, once considered a luxury, have now become common and found a place even in village kitchens," he said.
Modi said that the role of eastern and Northeastern India is continuously increasing, and the entire region will become the growth engine of the nation’s development.
"Namrup plant is a significant contribution of the Northeast to the country's fertiliser needs. Projects like this demonstrate that in the coming time, the region will emerge as a major centre of self-reliant India and will remain as Ashtalakshmi in true sense," Modi said.
