Listeners said Facebook was too willing to exempt politicians from following its rules
Facebook Inc. has not done enough to combat discrimination on its platform and some of its decisions have been civil rights setbacks, according to an independent audit commissioned by the company, reported the New York Times.
Listeners’ findings are likely to add additional pressure to the company that is already boycotting some 900 advertisers, including big brands such as Coca-Cola, over what civil rights activists say is promoting it hate speech.
“Many members of the civil rights community are discouraged, frustrated and angry after years of engagement where they have implored the company to do more to promote equality and fight discrimination while preserving freedom of action. “expression,” wrote listeners, according to the Times, which said it had obtained a pre-publication report of the results.
Facebook commissioned Laura Murphy, former director of the legislative office of the American Civil Liberties Union, to lead the audit of its civil rights policies in 2018. She was responding to a series of criticisms on issues such as the privacy of data, suppression of voters, incitement to violence and a lack of transparency in political advertising.
A Facebook spokesperson said the audit “was an in-depth analysis of how we can strengthen and advance civil rights at all levels of our business – but it’s the start of the journey, not the end.
“What has become increasingly clear is that we have a long way to go. As difficult as it has been to have our gaps exposed by experts, it has undoubtedly been a really important process for our business.”
Listeners said Facebook was too willing to exempt politicians from obeying its rules, allowing them to spread disinformation, harmful and confrontational rhetoric, and even calls for violence.
Facebook has taken a non-interventionist approach to political discourse compared to its rivals, notably leaving intact a message from President Donald Trump in May that his rival Twitter has called incitement to violence.
The boycott organizers, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the NAACP, met for more than an hour by videoconference with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg on Tuesday. After the meeting, activists said they saw “no commitment to act” on the part of the company.
(Report by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Graff)
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
