For weeks, Facebook has been dealing with numerous bombshell revelations resulting from a huge cache of leaked internal documents. Now, Facebook is making some groups on its internal Workplace message boards about platform safety and protecting elections private, according to The New York Times. The move is seemingly in an effort to prevent further leaks.
It’s unclear exactly how many groups will be taken private, so we don’t know how broadly Facebook is locking things down. “Leaks make it harder for our teams to work together, can put employees working on sensitive subjects at risk externally and lead to complex topics being misrepresented and misunderstood,” a Facebook spokesman said to The New York Times. The company didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment from The Verge.
Facebook’s decision follows last week’s Congressional testimony by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former staffer in the Civic Integrity group who was the source of the leaked documents. On Monday, Haugen accepted an invitation to speak to Facebook’s independent Oversight Board, and later this month, she is scheduled to testify before the UK Parliament.
