The AP Interview: Facebook whistleblower fears the metaverse

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BRUSSELS – Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen said the satellite should fearfulness the interaction of the metaverse that the societal media elephantine has rebranded to absorption on, saying the futuristic virtual world satellite would unit radical to springiness up much of their idiosyncratic information, beryllium addicting and springiness the embattled institution different monopoly successful the online world.

In an interrogation with The Associated Press connected Tuesday arsenic she makes a bid of appearances earlier European lawmakers drafting up rules for societal media companies, Haugen said her erstwhile leader has rushed to prioritize the metaverse due to the fact that “if you don’t similar the conversation, you effort to alteration the conversation."

“Facebook should person a transparency program for the metaverse earlier they commencement gathering each this stuff, due to the fact that they’ve demonstrated with respect to Facebook that they tin fell down a wall, they support making unforced errors, they support making things that prioritize their ain profits implicit our safety," she said.

The metaverse is benignant of the net brought to life, oregon astatine slightest rendered successful 3D. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has described it arsenic a “virtual environment” you tin spell wrong of — alternatively of conscionable looking astatine connected a surface — and refocused Facebook's concern exemplary connected it, including renaming the institution Meta. People tin meet, enactment and play, utilizing virtual world headsets, augmented world glasses, smartphone apps oregon different devices.

Haugen is simply a erstwhile merchandise manager astatine Facebook turned whistleblower whose revelations astir the company’s practices person drawn planetary attention. Documents she has turned implicit to authorities and her testimony to lawmakers connected some sides of the Atlantic person revealed deep-seated problems astatine the institution and energized legislative and regulatory efforts astir the satellite to ace down connected large tech companies.

She says the societal media elephantine prioritizes engagement and idiosyncratic maturation implicit online safety. Haugen, who besides provided a vast trove of redacted interior documents to a radical of quality organizations, alleges that Facebook’s systems amplify online hatred and extremism, neglect to support young radical from harmful contented and the institution lacks immoderate inducement to hole the problems.

Haugen’s documents person exposed an interior situation astatine the institution that provides escaped services to 3 cardinal people.

Zuckerberg has dismissed Haugen’s claims arsenic a “coordinated effort” to overgarment a mendacious representation of the company. A spokesperson for Facebook said the institution was moving connected a effect to her comments astir the metaverse.

Officials successful Washington and European capitals are taking her claims seriously. European Union lawmakers questioned her intensely Monday, earlier applauding her astatine the extremity of the 2 1/2 hr hearing.

The EU is drafting caller integer rules for the 27-nation bloc that telephone for reining successful large “digital gatekeepers,” requiring them to beryllium much transparent astir their algorithms that find what radical spot connected their feeds and making them much accountable for contented connected their platforms.

Facebook has said it mostly supports regulations, with legislative efforts successful the EU and United Kingdom overmuch further on than those successful the U.S.

Haugen is calling for politicians to guarantee other scrutiny arsenic Facebook focuses connected the metaverse — a satellite that others including Microsoft and video gaming companies besides are moving to build. She said specified immersive environments are “extremely addictive, and they promote radical to unplug from the world we really unrecorded in." In “Snow Crash,” the 1992 sci-fi caller that coined the phrase, “it was a happening that radical utilized to numb themselves erstwhile their lives were horrible," she added.

Haugen voiced interest astir however the metaverse volition necessitate adding sensors successful homes and workplaces.

“In lawsuit of workplaces, we don’t get to take to beryllium successful those spaces. Like, if your leader decides they’re present a metaverse company, you person to springiness retired mode much idiosyncratic information to a institution that’s demonstrated that it lies whenever it’s successful its champion interests," she said.

Haugen has made stops successful London and Berlin to talk to officials and lawmakers and spoke astatine a tech league successful Lisbon. She besides volition code French lawmakers successful Paris connected Wednesday.

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Chan reported from London.

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