| This actually anecdotally confirms the thread from Alex Stamos I posted about in reply: > There are a couple of big differences between Uber and FB that make whistleblowing less likely, namely 1) a much stronger HR culture and 2) the fact that even internal critics see external criticism as often unfair or incorrect. > [...] > On 2), there is a lot written about FB that is seen as directionally correct but unfair or incorrect in the details. This reduces the trust internal critics have in the external press; nobody wants to leak and have their statements twisted to fit the media's narrative. > Even to internal Cassandras, it is clear that there is a moral panic around Facebook that reduces the pressure in the media to get the story straight. As a result, 20-70% of the details in any story are wrong and that is clear to most employees. > For example, the NY Times has done a number of privacy stories that are directionally correct, in that the proliferation of partnerships and APIs creates a real data protection challenge. > However, sloppy details like the idea that Netflix is reading your Messenger messages or the mixing of real data-sharing with APIs that allow for 3rd-party clients makes it clear to employees that the story is getting mangled. > Likewise, the discussion of Myanmar. This is a spectacularly complicated situation that a lot of Facebook employees feel sick to their stomachs about. But there isn't a clean issue to blow the whistle on nor does the external discussion encourage FBers to participate. > [...] > The media portrayal of the situation as simple or FB as not caring does not match up to the experience of the hundreds of people working on this problem, which makes it much less likely that they will talk to the press. > This doesn't mean the media should go easy on FB, but if you portray mistakes as intentional decisions made for the most venal of reasons, then don't be surprised when the actual people working on these problems don't DM you for your Signal. [1]: https://twitter.com/alexstamos/status/1185954967086981125 |