On Monday October 4th, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp were targeted by a massive hack that affected millions of people worldwide. This hack has raised many questions, such as if any personal information could’ve been stolen. Another suspicious part is that it came the morning after the Facebook whistleblower appeared on 60 Minutes. 

Frances Haugen was a former Facebook employee that testified with an abundance of evidence that Facebook has been creating more divide in the country by adding specific content that triggers users to keep them engaged in content. Before the senate she claimed that, “I believe that Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy.” Facebook executive’s and Mark Zuckerberg himself have denied these claims.

Then, on the morning of October 4th, Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp all went down for a painful 6 hours. It is still unknown who or what caused this hack, but as of right now it appears that no user information was ever taken. Many people have suspicions that the testimony from Haugen the night before could’ve had something to do with this. 

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, a representative for New York shared with her 8 million followers on Instagram that this hack was detrimental to many communities (especially Latinos) because it took away two of their main communication sources (WhatsApp and Instagram Messenger) that were owned by Facebook. “If Facebook’s monopolistic behavior was checked back when it should’ve been, the continents of people who depend on WhatsApp & IG for communication or commerce would be fine right now” she pointed out.

The Facebook dilemma is currently undergoing senate hearings, and is expected to be voted on/conversed about more this coming month. You can find updates on this at: NY Times:Facebook’s Growing Troubles.