Facebook has faced a barrage of bipartisan criticism stemming from last week's high-profile Congressional testimony from former Facebook employee-turned-whistleblower Frances Haugen. She accused the social media giant of putting profits over the well-being of its users, and ignoring evidence of the harm its product does to young people. But lost in all the glowing media coverage of Haugen is that she is a liberal activist who is actually calling for more censorship by Facebook.
Now, it appears she may get her wish. After Haugen's testimony, a Facebook executive told Congress the company would "welcome" more government oversight in "content moderation." Luke Macias, Texas political consultant and commentator, tells KTRH Facebook is looking for cover from the federal government. "(Facebook) is under a considerable amount of pressure, and so they're doing what a lot of corporations are doing, and that is asking the government to force them to do something so they can censor conservatives," he says. "They're essentially asking the federal government to tell them that they have to censor conservatives."
Macias believes Facebook is trying to have it both ways, simultaneously claiming to be acting as a private entity while openly courting cooperation with the government. "They think they should have the right to (censor content) because they're a company...no," he says. "They absolutely don't have that right, and they don't get to come in and invade the privacy and liberties of Texans in the name of business rights."
In response to the criticism, Facebook has promised changes to its algorithm and other practices. But many conservatives smell a rat, with big media, big tech and big government all seemingly aligned. "The reality is these large corporations have become oligarchic partners with government entities," says Macias. "And they are being used by them, and working with them in concert, to really invade, destroy and attack the liberties of the citizens."