Why Facebook Should Release The Facebook Files

The The fallout from Wall Street Journal continues. The company published a point by point rebuttal of the Journal story about Instagram's effects upon teenage girls. On Monday, the company stated that it would "pause” plans to create Instagram Kids while consulting with other groups. On Thursday , a Senate hearing is scheduled.

I spent the weekend talking with people from Facebook about the situation. Today I want to discuss what the company should do.

Some people on Facebook are frustrated, according to me. The Journalseries has very few data points, which they claim paints Facebook in the worst possible light. They see it as more evidence of bias by a press trying to bring down Facebook, drawing predetermined conclusions from whatever bits of information they have.

FACEBOOK FILES ARE A WELCOME OPPORTUNITY FOR OTHERS TO DISCUSS THEIR BIGGEST FEARS

Others, especially those involved in research and integrity, have found the Facebook Files a welcome forum to share their greatest fears. They fear that, despite the most alarming findings of researchers, Facebook does not have the organizational structure or leadership to stop it from causing many preventable harms.

Last week, I stated that this situation is Facebook's greatest challenge since the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. Although it's not as large than Cambridge Analytica, the Journal has received less coverage. (Though the Senate hearing will mean that the balance will continue shifting. If another story has created a news cycle as intense and sustained since 2018, that's news to us.

However, there is another echo of Cambridge Analytica in the Facebook Files internal divisions. There was also a group of executives who were determined to stop what they believed to be a completely false narrative. Another set, however, was more in line with their peers and understood that the story raised serious concerns about the company's power, influence, and potential threats.

Last week, I argued that Facebook should address this issue by dedicating more research such as that found in the Facebook Files. We know that Facebook executives believe the company offers positive overall benefits to the world. And we also know that they are diligent students of their data. It is difficult to see why Facebook would be reluctant to share positive data if it is so beneficial.

So why is this the case? The Facebook Files suggests that data on Facebook's impact on social issues such as polarization, vaccine resistance, and children's self-esteem is substantially negative and should be kept secret. Another possibility is that the data are substantially positive, but must still be kept secret for reasons such as corporate secrecy, a desire for more strategic data deployment, or PR reasons.

No matter what the reason, it seems that everyone is suffering from the current state of affairs. Today, I would like to add to my argument. Facebook should not only commit to more research such as the Facebook Files but should also release the Facebook Files every day. Not just the Instagram-related, , as Nick Clegg suggested Monday. Facebook should make public any documents that the Journal rely on. If necessary, you can redact them to protect privacy. Where context is lacking, add context.

They must be released quickly.

Here is my reasoning.

One, they are in the public interest. They also contain discussions about political parties that modified their policies based upon Facebook's algorithm. They also document negative impacts of Instagram on mental health. The public has the right to know all about Facebook's activities on these and other subjects. The one thing that frustrates me the most over the last week is Facebook's continued focus on the public-relations aspect of the story when the public interest is far more important.

Two, the files are likely to be released soon anyway. The whistleblower who leaked the files to the Journal appears to be cooperating with Congress. The researchers were given copies of the files before publication. They may be released by the Journal, which I wish would. It seems probable that they will be made available to all of us soon. Facebook could generate some (albeit minor) goodwill by doing so voluntarily. (A company spokesperson Andy Stone said that the company was sharing the decks this week with Congress.

Three, Facebook's main complaint about the series was that reporters took key points out of context . It is impossible to prove that you made this charge if you don't give the context. It is not enough for the head of research of the company to show one slide. To have an honest discussion about this matter, all of us should be viewing the same set. Facebook claims that the majority of research has benign or even positive results, so it should be all the more compelling to encourage us to look at them.

Facebook's opponents to the release of the documents have their own compelling arguments. Every tech reporter in the world will begin to look through the files as soon as they are made public. This will extend the life of the story, and possibly even make the situation worse. Although there may be positive angles in the data, it is not guaranteed that reporters will actually write them. A narrow focus on these documents can lead to a lack of discussion about why we don't demand similar research from YouTube, Twitter, TikTok and all other social media platforms.

The company was also shocked by the negative response to its Sunday evening blog post received . I was one among those who negatively responded. Samidh Chakrabarti was Facebook's recently-deceased former head of civic integrity.

Pratiti Raychoudhury is the company's head for research. Her Sunday blog post is thoughtful and detailed. It reflects both the good news and the bad news from the company’s studies about how young Instagram users feel after using the app. People will draw their own conclusions. The data is mixed. However, the company may be reluctant to share more because so many people dismissed her report. If is getting this response then what's all the fuss?

None of these complaints are more important than the fact that sharing this data with the public is the right thing . It will be more beneficial for Facebook to share the data on its terms than Congress'.

Facebook could even go further if it really wants to change people's perceptions. The company's best option is to quickly release the Facebook Files. The company is aware that outside researchers may be skeptical about any findings they make, as they cannot see the raw data. Even if the files are exempted from criticisms by Facebook, the underlying data will likely remain under suspicion.

Let's get a second, third, and fourth opinion on what the data shows about INSTAGRAM and TEENAGERS

Facebook should not only make the files public but also share the underlying data with independent, qualified researchers in a privacy-preserving manner. Let's see what data the data shows us about Instagram and teens. A surprising gift of new research material could be a great way for the company to rebuild trust with researchers, given the revelations that data on political-science was shared with researchers in 2020.

This is not everyone's idea of a great gift. Anyone can survey teens on Instagram about their experiences, and an independent study could recruit more. Facebook should share as much data as possible, even though the Facebook Files cannot be accessed or reproduced by independent researchers. To date, the company has been ineffective and slow to share data with researchers. The platform is moving towards transparency in some way; it's still valuable to hold a leadership position, while the rest of industry cowers.

I recommend that you release the Facebook Files to gain short-term goodwill and give at least some data to qualified researchers for longer-term credibility. Facebook has been continuously analyzing our behavior and actions since its inception. This has proven to be a great benefit. It doesn't matter how unfair it feels today, it is only right that Facebook now be under scrutiny.