Metaverse problematic in work environment, warns Facebook whistle-blower

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) - A former Facebook executive turned whistle-blower warned Wednesday that the social media platform’s vision of extending its new virtual reality based metaverse project to professional workplaces is “super problematic.”

Frances Haughen, who is on a Europe tour testifying to lawmakers on the dangerous practices of Facebook, now called Meta, was invited to a hearing by the French parliament’s Economic Affairs and Law Commission.

She said the metaverse project is of great concern because of the risks it poses to the individual rights of freedoms and privacy. Facebook unveiled the project in October promising an immersive online experience for users.

“Their vision of being within the work environment is very worrying. Facebook wants to collect tons of new data on you. They want to fill your environment with sensors, microphones and other systems of surveillance,” she said in response to a question by a lawmaker about her views on the flagship project.

“Imagine if you work from home and your employer decides to become a Facebook metaverse company ... you will no longer be able to decide whether Facebook can spy on you or not," she said, explaining her concerns.

Haughen, who left her job earlier this year and leaked the company’s internal reports to the media that documented its inaction on hate speech, misinformation, disinformation and algorithms promoting harmful social media trends, said the platform was not investing in language moderators.

Highlighting problems associated with French social media, she said France was more susceptible and at disadvantage to fake news due to the lack of French-speaking moderators.

She told lawmakers that Facebook needs to publicly disclose the number of moderators per language. “I assure you, there are not enough French-speaking moderators at Facebook."

“France does not benefit from all the security systems that benefit English language (content.) From the data I have seen, many languages, including French, face significant security problems. For example, the disinformation related to COVID," she said, demanding more transparency on the system.

During the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, French social media was filled with conspiracy videos and documentaries like Hold Up and Manigances-19, spreading falsehoods about COVID-19 which were not banned from the platform.

This information is part of a legal dossier against Facebook in France for failing to provide "a safe and error-free online environment."

Haughen also commended on French parliamentarians for introducing a new bill guaranteeing protection to whistle-blowers, which will be debated in the Senate later this week.

She said the bill is "amazing" as it will encourage more people to come out and report malpractices at workplaces. The text defines whistle-blower and has provisions for protecting employees of public and private companies along with immediate family members.