Facebook whistleblower’s damning testimony | First Thing

Frances Haugen gave evidence to UK parliament calling for urgent regulation. Plus, FDA to debate authorizing Covid shots for children

Good morning.

The Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen gave evidence to parliament in the UK on Monday, calling for urgent regulation to rein in the company's management and reduce the harm being done to society.

What is Haugen doing in the UK? Haugen, a former Facebook employee who released tens of thousands of damaging documents about its inner workings, traveled to London from the US to back UK government proposals to regulate social media platforms and make them take some responsibility for content on their sites.

What is the problem with Facebook? Haugen said much of the blame for the world's increasingly polarized politics lay with the radicalizing impact of social networks, especially Facebook groups.

Why is Zuckerberg being so closely scrutinized? Facebook's ownership is structured so that Zuckerberg, as founder of the company, has a special class of share that means he alone ultimately controls the business. This gives him enormous control over the eponymous social network as well as the Facebook-owned Instagram and WhatsApp.

If the committee approves the vaccine, does that mean it will go ahead? Regulators do not always follow independent committees' advice, but they usually do.

What does the president have to say? The Biden administration also sees it as an important next step in the vaccine rollout program, which has slowed considerably.