Mark Zuckerberg should step down as CEO, says Facebook whistleblower 

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen has called on Mark Zuckerberg to step down as chief executive of the Facebook (FB) — who changed its corporate name last week to Meta.

During an on-stage interview at the Web Summit tech conference on Monday, Frances Haugen said, "I think it is unlikely the company will change if he remains CEO”.

"I hope that he can see that there's so much good he can do in the world, and maybe it's a chance for somebody else to take the reins," she added.

Haugen further added, "I think Facebook would be stronger with someone who was willing to focus on safety".

During the interview, Haugen criticized the move and called the company's plans to invest in the metaverse before solving its real-world safety problems "unconscionable."

"Over and over again, Facebook chooses expansion in new areas over sticking the landing on what they've already done," she said. 

The Facebook whistle blower further added, "As you read through the documents it states very clearly that there needs to be more resources on very basic safety systems. And instead of investing in making sure that their platforms are a minimal level of safe, they're about to invest 10,000 engineers in video games. And I can't imagine how this makes sense".

Haugen set off the latest firestorm when she leaked tens of thousands of pages of internal company documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission, lawmakers and the Wall Street Journal. 

Last month, a consortium of news organizations, obtained the documents, now known as the "Facebook Papers," and published scores of articles. 

The documents provide the deepest look yet at many of the company's biggest problems, including how hate speech and misinformation are amplified on the platform, how coordinated groups are able to use its apps to cause real-world violence and harm, and how its lack of non-English language capabilities has endangered users in politically unstable parts of the world.

Facebook-turned-Meta, however, repeatedly pushed back on Haugen's claims and said the documents she leaked provide a skewed image of the company's research and efforts. 

Lawmakers have asked Zuckerberg to testify before Congress, and some tech safety advocates have called for a leadership change at the social media giant. However, it doesn't appear Zuckerberg is planning to step down anytime soon.

In October, Facebook said it would hire 10,000 people in the European Union (EU) to help build the metaverse.