Sen. Blumenthal Reflects on ‘Deeply Disturbing’ Whistleblower Testimony: ‘Facebook’s Greed is Driving These Teens Into the Darkest of Places’

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) reflected on Tuesday’s Facebook whistleblower testimony by Frances Haugen on The Situation Room with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

Blumenthal chairs the Senate Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, which held the hearing of whistleblower Haugen. As the senator questioned Haugen on Tuesday, she directly blamed Mark Zuckerberg and said “the buck stops with” him.

When recalling the information gained from the testimony, Blumenthal noted that it was “about as compelling and credible and deeply disturbing as it gets.”

“This witness was so convincing because she came forth at great personal risk,” continued the Senator, “but also she had documents to prove everything she was saying… it’s validated by the facts.”

Blumenthal stressed the importance of the testimony. “For any parent, this kind of testimony has to be not only very compelling, but also very fearsome.”

“It shows why children are going to Facebook, why they are driven to these dark places and how Facebook is very consciously and knowingly deepening their insecurities and anxieties.”

The senator used words like “unsafe,” “misinformation,” and “hatred,” to describe Facebook’s utilization of algorithms that are believed to, “amplify and weaponize divisions.”

Blumenthal, however, added that he does believe it is still possible to “sustain the sense of urgency,” calling the testimony a “breakthrough moment” for regulations on big tech.

“Facebook’s greed is driving these teens into the darkest of places because they simply want to amplify messages,” said Blumenthal, slamming the company. “More eyeballs, more users, more data, more advertisers and ultimately Mark Zuckerberg is responsible.”

Blumenthal concluded by emphasizing the need for transparency within the industry, in order to create a safer social media atmosphere.

“If Facebook is so dissatisfied, as they indicated in that statement, and they really want congressional action, they ought to come here and participate at the table.”

Watch above via CNN.