Facebook whistleblower supports Brazil’s ‘Fake News bill’

Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager and whistleblower, told Brazilian lawmakers on Tuesday that she supports the country’s so-called “Fake News bill,” which establishes regulations for social media aimed at fighting disinformation. In 2021, Ms. Haugen leaked internal documents to the Wall Street Journal, the basis for The Facebook Files.

She later testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee, where she told lawmakers “Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy.” In the testimony, she repeatedly accused the company of choosing growth and profit over safety, and added she had “strong national security concerns about how Facebook operates today.”

Ms. Haugen told Brazilian lawmakers: “I’m very excited about [the Fake News bill]. There are many provisions, like calls for transparency. Public reporting on things like how many moderators are working on issues important to Brazil.” 

In a recent interview, Ms. Haugen said Brazil is not a priority for Facebook’s efforts against disinformation and that the company devotes a very small percentage of its budget to moderating content in Portuguese.

“When...