Teenagers protesting at Facebook HQ call for increased government accountability

After new allegations have emerged against social media giant Facebook, teenagers have gathered to protest outside the corporation's Irish headquarters.

The event was organised by Uplift, a non-profit group that seeks to bring progressive change to Ireland. Teenagers and supporters met outside the corporate headquarters before marching to the Dáil, where they called on ministers Catherine Martin and Robert Troy to impose stronger regulation on the American social media company.

The protest was triggered after recent allegations that the corporation deliberately hid research that showed that Instagram's algorithm could not adequately identify dangerous content, leading to harmful posts being offered to children and teenagers.

“Facebook bosses know the damage they are causing," said Uplift campaigner Layla Wade. "They are not going to change willingly - from June to September alone, they made a $9 billion profit. This government is in a powerful position to rein in Facebook because their European HQ is based in Ireland, but are failing to rein them in. "

The company latest controversy came out after former employee Frances Haugen spoke to the U.S. Congress on October 5th. The data engineer accused her ex-employer of several misconducts, including intentionally getting kids hooked to its applications. A central theme of her testimony was how negatively the application was affecting the self-esteem of teenage girls.

"Teenagers like us are fed unrealistic images of how we should look," said Dorothy, one of the teenagers behind the protest.  "We then feel pressure to look a particular way, and it makes us feel bad about ourselves. Facebook should be protecting us, not pushing this stuff at us."

“We won’t stand by while this government sits on their hands and fails to protect us," Megan, another teenager involved in the manifestation, added. "That's why today we are going to Facebook and to the Dáil to tell them how we feel and that we want them to stop letting Facebook off the hook.”

The group presented the ministers the following demands:

• Invite whistleblowers Frances Haugen and Sophie Zhang to meet with you to present her evidence of how Facebook is perpetuating harm and toxicity.
• Call Facebook executives to appear before an Oireachtas committee to answer questions about their conduct/inaction.
• Commit to stronger rules and laws through Online Media Safety Regulation Bill and the Digital Services Act that minimise the harm caused by Facebook and other global digital corporations.
• Take all necessary measures to rein in ‘Big Tech’s’ harmful abuses whilst defending people’s fundamental rights, including the protection of the right to free speech for all.

Photo Credit: Uplift

You can find more information about Uplift here.