The Furor Over Facebook

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question to guide discussion: To what extent—and for what purposes—should the government regulate private business?

2. List Vocabulary
Share with students some of the challenging vocabulary words in this article. Encourage them to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• perpetuates (p. 6)
• misinformation (p. 7)
• stoke (p. 7)
• regulate (p. 7)
• partisan (p. 7)
• algorithms (p. 8)

3. Engage
Say: Imagine you work for a social media company. You’ve just learned that your company is hiding research that shows the company’s app adversely affects teens’ self-esteem. Would you make that research public? Why or why not? Revisit the discussion after students have read the article.

4. Read 
Have students read the article, marking the text to note key ideas or questions.

5. Discuss
Distribute or project Up Close: The Furor Over Facebook, a close-reading activity for students to work on in small groups. (Note: The questions on the PDF also appear below, with possible responses.) Follow up with a class discussion. If you’re short on time, have each group tackle one or two of the questions. Collect students’ work or have each group report its findings to the class.

• What does the title of the article indicate the article will be about? Based on details in the article, what is the furor over Facebook specifically about? (Word meaning, central idea) (The title indicates that the article will be about something that many people are upset about—a furor—in relation to Facebook. The furor is about claims that Facebook knew it was causing harm to teens but hid its research on the issue and failed to address the problem. In addition, critics say the company has played a key role in spreading misinformation and deepening partisan divides.)

• How does Facebook make money? How might this type of revenue model cause executives to make socially unethical decisions? If Facebook made money by charging its users, would that have the reverse effect on executives? Explain. (Cause & effect, make inferences) (Facebook makes money by selling ads. This type of revenue model might cause executives to promote extreme content to keep users coming back to the app. Opinions will vary. Students may note that a social media company that made money by charging its users might still post extreme content as a way of attracting and keeping subscribers.)

• What solutions are discussed in the article for addressing the problems associated with social media? (Problem & solution, key details) (Frances Haugen suggests requiring companies like Facebook to open their systems to researchers to study the prevalence of harmful content as a way of keeping these companies in check. Roger McNamee wants Congress to make laws “about what’s allowed and what’s not.” Facebook has also called on Congress to “begin to create standard rules for the internet.”)

• Based on details in the article and your own background knowledge, why do you think Facebook might prefer for Congress to “create standard rules for the internet” rather than self-regulating? (Make inferences) (Facebook likely prefers standard rules because then the rules would apply to all companies, and therefore, all companies would face the same revenue consequences. Facebook likely sees having to self-regulate in response to public pressure, such as how it made accounts on Instagram private by default, as putting it at a revenue disadvantage compared with companies that do not self-regulate in the same way.) 

• At the end of the article, Roger McNamee says, “Demonstrably, that is not true.” What is he referring to? How does he support his claim? Does he make a strong argument? Explain. (Claims & evidence, evaluate arguments) (He is referring to the claim new industries tend to make that if you regulate them, “the end of the world will happen.” He supports his claim by giving examples of government regulations implemented in the early 1900s and the 1960s and ’70s. Assessments of his argument will vary.) 

• What is the central idea of the sidebar “Making the World Go Round”? What does the sidebar add to the article? (Central idea, integrate sources) (The central idea of the sidebar is that a global Facebook outage revealed how much we depend on social media apps not only for communication but also for essential services. The sidebar helps readers understand just how big social media companies are and why understanding how they operate and what effects they can have on communities is important.)

6. Writing Prompt
Research and summarize one of the regulations that Roger McNamee mentions when supporting his claim about what Congress should do regarding Facebook.

7. Video
Watch the video about Facebook. What does it add to your understanding?

8. Classroom Debate
Are private companies ethically obligated to act in favor of the common good?

9. Quiz & Skills
Use the quiz to assess students’ comprehension and Organizing Ideas to review outlining skills.