Facebook’s Zuckerberg says company is reviewing policies amid criticism
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, has told employees that the social network is reviewing its policies, including rules that allow President Donald Trump to post a comment that critics say could lead to violence.
In a note to employees that Zuckerberg shared publicly in a Facebook post On Friday, he outlined seven areas that the company is examining after criticizing its hands-off approach to Trump’s controversial post. This week, employees held a rare virtual strike to protest the company’s approach and publicly rejected it.
“I want to make it clear that while we look at all of these areas, we may not come up with changes that we want to make in all areas,” said Zuckerberg in his post. He added that the ideas are just a “starting point”.
Zuckerberg was criticized by his own staff after the social network left a Trump post in which the president said, “When the looting begins, the shootings begin.” Trump made the comment in response to news about protests that broke out after the death of George Floyd, a black man in Minnesota, who died after a white cop nailed him to the neck with a knee. Facebook has rules against inciting violence, but it allows discussions about the state’s use of violence. Since Trump also referred to the National Guard in his post, Facebook saw it as a warning against the use of state violence and did not pull it down.
Twitter, on the other hand, said the same thing Comment, in one of Trump’s tweets, violated his rules against the glorification of violence. The enterprise disguised this Trump tweet behind a noteHowever, in the name of public interest, users could click an “Show” button in the notification to read the tweet.
Zuckerberg said Facebook will review policies that allow discussion of the use of state violence. Cases of excessive use of police or state violence, and cases where a country has continued unrest or violent conflict are examined. The company is also examining rules to suppress voters the coronavirus pandemicand alternatives to simply exiting or pulling down content. The company has no public interest announcement like Twitter.
“In general, I’m concerned that this approach can result in us editing content that we don’t like, even if it doesn’t violate our guidelines. I think we have to be very careful,” said Zuckerberg.
Facebook will also work to make clearer and more transparent decisions and to consider whether internal changes need to be made. According to Zuckerberg, the social network is also working on products to promote racial justice and build a hub for voter information.
“To members of our Black Community: I stand by you,” said Zuckerberg in the post. “Your life is important. Black life is important.”