Skip to main content

Home  »  US Employment News   »   Meta platforms cuts responsible innovation team

Meta platforms cuts responsible innovation team

Facebook parent Meta

Meta adds new features to protect young Instagram and Facebook users

The team at Meta that would identify issues with its products has been scrapped.

The Responsible Innovation team would work to address any concerns over downsides to its products but has now been removed.

About 20 engineers, ethicists, and other members of the team worked with internal product teams as well as external privacy specialists, academics, and users.

READ MORE: META AND QUALCOMM STRIKE DEAL TO MAKE CUSTOM VIRTUAL REALITY CHIPS FOR METAVERSE APPLICATIONS

According to Meta spokesman Eric Porterfield, the organization is still dedicated to the team's objectives.

The majority of its former employees would continue doing similar work elsewhere at Meta, though no new jobs are guaranteed.

He claimed that the business felt more issue-specific teams would benefit from using its safe and moral product design resources.

READ MORE: META TO PAY $400 MILLION IN FINES OVER CHILDREN’S DATA VIOLATIONS ON INSTAGRAM

Starting with advising on the design of specific products, this first involved teaching recently hired engineers how to consider potential drawbacks to what they build.

Last year, Margaret Gould Stewart, the company vice president overseeing the team, wrote a post for a company blog titled “Why I’m optimistic about Facebook’s Responsible Innovation efforts.”

“We design our products with a privacy-first approach and partner with experts in civil rights, accessibility, human rights, and safety, as well as academic institutions, governments, and people who use our products, like you."

READ MORE: META HAS A NEW CHATBOT AND IT CALLED MARK ZUCKERBERG A “BAD PERSON”

Zvika Krieger, who led the team before leaving Meta earlier this year, said in an interview that its efforts were broader than other safety and integrity-related work at the company.

Need Career Advice? Get employment skills advice at all levels of your career

He claimed that former Chief Technology Officer Michael Schroepfer, who announced his resignation last year, gave its work prominence in the engineering operation.

Mr. Krieger cited as an example of its work its involvement with the Facebook dating team's decision to forego including a filter that would allow users to target or exclude potential love interests of a particular race.

Mr. Krieger claimed the team consulted with more than 100 product teams. Later, he said, other dating services did the same.

Source: Wallstreetjournal

Follow us on YouTubeTwitterLinkedIn, and Facebook.