Hi F—,
Thank you for contacting me. I know there are lots of engineers who would be really happy to work at Facebook.
I would like to explain briefly why I don't count myself among them, in the hopes that this might send a signal that Facebook's reckless business practices do incur costs that can be hard to fully account for.
- Less than three weeks ago Facebook was in the business of selling advertisements against a "pseudoscience" category, during a global pandemic. (Full disclosure: I work at The Markup.)
https://themarkup.org/coronavirus/2020/04/23/want-to-find-a-misinformed-public-facebooks-already-done-it - In 2019 Facebook settled a case of racial discrimination where job, housing, and credit advertisements could be targeted in a way that discriminated against protected groups. (Full disclosure: at my last job I worked at ACLU.)
https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/facebook-agrees-sweeping-reforms-curb-discriminatory-ad-targeting-practices - I do not think that a global scale social network can exist without subjecting its moderation workers to psychologically damaging conditions. And I'm skeptical that "AI" will succeed in fixing this.
- Culturally speaking, Facebook's "Move Fast and Break Things" motto represents exactly what is wrong with the software industry, undervaluing care work and subjecting at-risk groups to further exploitation.
I'm not even going to get into the privacy stuff, but rest assured that is also a reason—it's just hard to know where to start.
I do not hold any grudge against those who choose to work at Facebook, I have former colleagues who've made that choice, and I wish the best for them.
I sincerely hope this might help marginally nudge you all into a better direction, and that you might find gainful employment elsewhere.
Best,
Dan