Exhibit 716

Statement of Frances Haugen, Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security

Exhibit 716 · Congressional testimony (written statement)

Statement of Frances Haugen, Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security

The result has been a system that amplifies division, extremism, and polarization — and undermining societies around the world.

Former Facebook product manager's written statement. Characterizes Facebook leadership's choices and states that internal research confirmed the problems. A statement of her account; the underlying documents are not reproduced in it.

Source: Frances Haugen (U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation)
Date: 4 October 2021
Quoted from: p. 2
Grade: Primary record
Document: https://www.commerce.senate.gov/index.php/services/files/FC8A558E-824E-4914-BEDB-3A7B1190BD49
Accessed: 2026-11-09
Cited by: Findings citing this exhibit

Cited by

Finding POL-3.3: Primary record Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager, told a Senate subcommittee in a written statement of 4 October 2021 that the company's choices produced "a system that amplifies division, extremism, and polarization" and that its internal research confirmed the problems. Facebook's vice president of integrity had said in May 2020 that the company took steps against polarization, some at a cost to revenue, and Zuckerberg said on 5 October 2021 that the profit-over-safety claim was untrue.
Finding POL-3.4: Reported News reports of internal Facebook documents state that staff warned in 2018 and 2019 that ranking changes rewarded outrage and that company leaders declined some proposed changes. Facebook disputes these accounts.