Does Mark Zuckerberg Need To Be Saved From Himself, In Order To Save The Rest Of Us?

Frances Haugen might be the closest thing to a hero in the world of social media that you're likely to find. She burst onto the world's stage as the Facebook whistleblower and since then has consistently spoken out about how Facebook has failed over and over again to make the changes that could keep people safer from misinformation, predators, social media addiction and many other ills of the digital world. Here's one quote from her recent interview with WIRED magazine about her latest book:

"He [Zuckerberg] always says things like, 'We have an inherent tension between freedom of speech and safety.' He never says, 'We could change our algorithms.' There were a huge number of people [inside Facebook] who were developing ways to address these problems, but they require changing the system of management. Facebook has a culture that devalues humans. It's tragic."

Over and over again, the failures of social media seem to come down to priorities. Profit, free speech, open access and growth all seem to consistently be more important than upholding truth or focusing on user safety. Until that ranking shifts, it's hard to imagine any social media platform truly changing for the better.