Hill To Hear From Facebook Whistle Blower

Capitol Hill
(Image credit: Architect of the Capitol)

Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said Tuesday they will hold a public hearing with a Facebook whistleblower Oct. 5 about Facebook's and Instagram's impact on young people and other issues.

That hearing in Commerce's Consumer Protection Subcommittee will come only days after the Sept. 30 hearing in the same subcommittee on the same topic featuring Antigone Davis, Facebook’s global head of safety.

Also Read: Sen. Blumenthal says TikTok Needs Hill Grilling

The senators said hearing from the whistleblower will be key to understanding what Facebook actually knows about its "toxic effects on young viewers" and when they knew it.

They are holding a series of hearings on children's protections, or lack of them, online.

Also Read: Facebook Gets Beatdown in Hill Hearing

Facebook has been in the hot-seat most recently over a Wall Street Journal article saying it had data showing the negative impact of Instagram on young people, but downplayed it.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.