-You're watching C-SPAN on a Saturday night.
Wow.
We now return to coverage of the Facebook hearings
in Congress.
-Once again, I would like to thank
the Facebook whistle-blower for coming forward.
-Thank you.
It's nice to be in an office with no skateboards.
-Now, my colleagues are eager to ask you questions
about the inner workings of Facebook and Instagram.
The chair recognizes Senator Feinstein of California.
-Ms. Haugen, I applaud your testimony here today.
What Facebook has done is disgraceful,
and you better believe Congress will be taking action
right after we pass the infrastructure bill,
raise the debt ceiling, prosecute those responsible
for the January 6th insurrection,
and stop Trump from using executive privilege,
even though he's no longer president.
After all that, you watch out, Facebook!
-Well, as a former Facebook engineer,
I'm here today because I have seen firsthand
how Facebook products harm children,
stoke division, and weaken our democracy.
-I appreciate that.
My question is, I have 2,000 friends on Facebook.
Is that good?
-Is it good?
-Like, is that a lot?
2,000 sounds like a lot.
How many does Drake have? 4,000?
-I think he has, like, 50 million.
-Oh, my God.
Well, no wonder he never answered my poke.
-Thank you, Senator Feinstein.
The chair recognizes Senator Kennedy of Louisiana.
-Ms. Haugen, you've told us a lot of disturbing information
about this so-called "algorithm."
I just want to clear up a few points.
Where is it?
-The algorithm?
-Yes. Do you have it with you now?
-Uh, no, but there are algorithms in all our phones
and computers.
-Not mine -- I got a Jitterbug flip phone.
Only lets me call my son or the hospital.
Now, exactly, how big is this algorithm?
Stop me when I get there.
-Please stop.
-Whooee! That's pretty big.
No further questions!
-Senator Cruz from Texas.
-Yes.
I was...
Yes, I was particularly drawn to your testimony
about bullying online,
how some teenagers and even some adult men
are bullied almost constantly.
-It's very disturbing.
-So, I'm wondering, how do you turn off that feature
on Facebook where everyone comments on all your posts
and says you're bad and they hate you?
-Well, there's an option to turn off comments.
-Okay, excellent.
Now, I'm also concerned about the toxic extremist groups
you mentioned.
I've seen groups with hateful name like "Ted Cruz Sucks"
or "Ted Cruz is the Real Zodiac Killer"
or "How Ted Cruz Have Kids When He a Virgin?"
Now, shouldn't you flag those as misinformation?
-"Ted Cruz Sucks" isn't really misinformation.
It's just one person's opinion.
-Well, it's more than one person's opinion.
-Thank you.
The chair recognizes Senator Lindsey Graham
of South Carolina.
-Thank you, Ms. Haugen.
I believe that Instagram is toxic to the body image
of impressionable young Americans,
specifically me.
I see all these beefy guys on my discover page,
and I'm lifting and I'm sweating,
and nothing's popping -- no biceps, no triceps, no delts.
I'm trying to get swole for Comic-Con.
But it is hard to cosplay as a boy
when you don't have the "V."
Everyone knows you need the "V."
-I'm sorry. Is there a question?
-I'm just saying these young girls are trying to get a face
that don't even exist.
They want the fox eye, the high cheek,
the Emily Ratajkowski brow.
They're doing Botox, Juvéderm, Kybella, Restylane,
and I'm like, "Girl, that ain't a face.
That's a filter." I'm sorry. I'm bad.
-[ Clears throat ]
I'm just going to move on.
-Senator Cory Booker.
-Thank you, Ms. Haugen.
I was particularly disturbed by your testimony
about how Facebook chooses profits
over the well-being of our children.
Rosario and I were discussing this very issue
just the other day.
Rosario Dawson.
-Right.
-Yeah, she and I are dating.
-That's great.
-So, my question is, does that make sense, right?
Like, when I stand next to her in a photo, that looks regular?
-Oh, I don't feel comfortable answering that.
-Ms. Haugen I have another question
that's been burning a back hole in my pocket.
When you open an incognito window on Google,
does that prevent God from seeing what you're doing?
-You know, that sounds like maybe a question for the Bible.
-And I will ask the Bible. Thank you, Ms. Haugen
-Senator Kennedy, you have a follow-up?
-Yes.
Ms. Haugen, could you explain how this photo showed up
in my feed?
-What is that?
-That's what I'd like to know.
It looks like the cast
from a live-action version of "Space Jam"
is taking a selfie.
-Now, is that pornographic?
-Not yet, but it feels like it's heading there.
-I had one in my feed, as well. What is this?
Is Facebook pressuring teens to do this?
To slowly morph into mice?
Is this the Stuart Little challenge?
-No, I think that's an image
from old book series called "Animorphs."
-Oh, my God, that looks like something I found
on the dark web.
-Oh, that reminds me.
Is the dark web the same as black Twitter?
-Oh, my God.
-Let's try to keep these questions pertinent.
Now, what about "Squid Game"? What is that?
-Oh
America is in a lot of debt right now.
Should we do a squid game?
-You know, I was put in a squid game recently.
And they made me the guy from "SpongeBob."
"When Texas is freezing, and you in Mexico."
-I got to ask about this one, too.
-"When the edible kicks in, and you da substitute."
-Yeah.
Is that what the kids are calling a "memmay"?
-There's this one, too.
"How it started. How it's going."
Is this making teens feel bad about their hair loss?
-Guys, you don't have to do this.
-Okay, one more.
"When you meet bitches that like vegetables,"
'cause that came up when I searched "Tom Brady old face."
-Okay, guys, order.
Please stop showing Ms. Haugen memes you found online.
-It's "memmay."
-Let's adjourn for lunch.
But first, I'm told we have a video response coming in
from the founder of a very important
social-media site.
Okay, now --
-Hi, everyone.
-No, no, no, we don't need any more from that guy.
I meant, let's go to the OG social-media king.
-Oh, hey.
Thank you.
I'm Tom from MySpace. Remember me?
I was harmless.
I'm not doing any of that weird algorithm stuff.
We barely maintain the website.
So, come on by.
Check out your friend's band from 20 years ago,
and let's make America top eight again.
And live from New York, it's "Saturday Night"!