Drew Angerer/Pool via AP
- Former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before Congress Tuesday.
- Sen. Brian Schatz asked Haugen what actions she would take if she was CEO of Facebook.
- Haugen responded with 4 directives, including the creation of a federal oversight board to hold Facebook accountable.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified to Congress on Tuesday after leaking internal documents shedding new light on the tech giant's controversial business practices.
During a series of questions from Senators on both sides of the aisle, Sen. Brian Schatz (D – Hawaii) asked Haugen to participate in a "thought experiment," in which she took the place of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
"You are now the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the company," Schatz said. "What changes would you immediately institute?"
Haugen listed four concrete steps she would have Facebook take if she held Zuckerberg's position of power.
"I would immediately establish a policy of how to share information and research from inside the company with appropriate oversight bodies like Congress," Haugen began, echoing her previous remarks on Facebook's lack of transparency.
Haugen then suggested the creation of a federal oversight board created within congress in order to hold Facebook accountable. Her third suggestion included actively engaging with academics to make sure researchers have accurate information surrounding the platform's marketing messages.
She added, "I would immediately implement the 'soft interventions' that were identified to protect the 2020 election." Those interventions included a feature that recommends users click on a link before sharing it.
"Other companies like Twitter have found that that significantly reduces misinformation," she said. "No one is censored by being forced to click on a link before sharing it."
Earlier in the testimony, Haugen said CEO Mark Zuckerberg holds more than half of all voting shares for Facebook, giving him unilateral control over the company. In that sense, "the buck stops with" him when making major decisions at Facebook.
"There is no one currently holding Mark accountable but himself," Haugen told Congress.
