Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), who currently holds as much as $500,000 worth of stock in Facebook, questioned Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen on Tuesday about how the company's profit could be affected by policy changes.
In a Tuesday morning hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security, Hickenlooper asked Haugen, "What impact to Facebook's bottom line would it have if the algorithm was changed to promote safety?"
According to Hickenlooper's most recent annual financial disclosure, he currently holds between $250,000-$500,000 worth of stock in Facebook, with the total value of his assets ranging from $8.8-$23.8 million. The exact value of assets is unknown, as members of Congress are only required to disclose values within broad ranges.
Among other members of the subcommittee, and the Senate Commerce Committee as a whole, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) is the only other member to hold direct stock in Facebook, having disclosed in his most recent annual financial disclosure that he owns between $1,001-$15,000 worth of stock in the company.
