Pressure ramps up on Facebook

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) is pressing Facebook for documents regarding what he calls the social media giants’ apparent failure to protect user welfare based on recent reporting that revealed the platform is being used for human trafficking and that top executives had apparent knowledge of Instagram’s detriment to young users’ mental health.

Krishnamoorthi, chairman of the subcommittee on economic and consumer policy, sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday requesting documents and information following the series of reports from The Wall Street Journal.

The Democrat’s first request relates to allegations of Facebook’s facilitation of human trafficking on the platform after the Journal reported that tech giant knowingly allowed trafficking and other illicit content, such as organ selling and pornography.

“It would be troubling if an American company attempted to pad its profits through rapid expansion in lower-income countries without instituting the same safety measures it employs here and in other wealthy nations,” Krishnamoorhi wrote.

Additionally, he is piling on the pressure for Facebook to release information and be forthcoming about its research into the impact of its products, primarily Instagram, on young users.