Facebook's former director of monetization says Facebook intentionally made its product as addictive as cigarettes - and now he fears it could cause 'civil war'

LAST THURSDAY AT 3:59 PM | BUSINESS INSIDER USA

Tell your friends

A former Facebook director lashed out at the company's business model during testimony before Congress on Thursday, saying Facebook's focus on driving engagement outweighs its consideration of potential harms.

In his prepared remarks before a House committee hearing, Facebook's former director of monetization Tim Kendall said Facebook "took a page from Big Tobacco's playbook, working to make our offering addictive at the outset."

Now, Kendall says he's worried Facebook is contributing to extremism in the US and is "pushing ourselves to the brink of a civil war."

Facebook's former director of monetization Tim Kendall says he had a role in making Facebook as addictive as cigarettes and worries that Facebook could be just as damaging to its users.

In a testimony before the House Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee published Thursday, Kendall accused Facebook of building algorithms that have facilitated the spread of misinformation, encouraged divisive rhetoric, and laid the groundwork for a "mental health crisis

Disclaimer If this post is your copyrighted property, please message this user or email us your request at [email protected] with a link to this post

3 likes

Select a category

Facebook As Addictive As Cigarettes

Facebook's former director of monetization says Facebook intentionally made its product as addictive as cigarettes - and now he fears it could cause 'civil war'