Canberra, 6 August 2024

We had the privilege of hosting Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen in Canberra, where she met with policymakers and media to share her thoughts on the political debate surrounding banning under 16s from social media.

Frances leveraged her experience at the forefront of social media accountability and transparency to bring much-needed clarity to the conversation, pulling back the curtain on what’s technically possible and what’s truly necessary.

During her visit, Frances equipped policymakers with key research and insights, pointing out that the current incentives in the tech industry will not drive the change we need. She stressed that transparency—whether in platforms’ censorship practices, advertising databases, or the management of viral content—is the real game-changer.

This visit couldn’t have been more timely, aligning perfectly with the ongoing review of the Online Safety Act 2021 and the work of the Joint Standing Committee on Social Media and Australian Society. Frances’ expertise and her passion for accountability and transparency in social media provided much-needed perspective as Australia looks to the future of online safety.

With an impressive career at Google, Pinterest, Yelp, and Facebook—where she was the Lead Product Manager on the Civic Misinformation team—Frances knows what she’s talking about. Alarmed by Facebook’s choices to prioritise profits over public safety, she took the courageous step of blowing the whistle, exposing these practices in what became known as ‘The Facebook Files’ initially reported by the Wall Street Journal.