A new message from your friends at People For the American Way.

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[ [link removed] ]Hold tech companies accountable! Sign Now >>

People For Member,

For years, tech companies around the world have ignored the rampant spread
of hate and disinformation campaigns on the internet, and repeatedly we
have witnessed the ramifications of letting it go unchecked.

Candidates can brazenly lie about their opponents and Facebook will barely
flinch; lies can spread like wildfire on Twitter while executives defend
their decision to not flag or remove the content; far-right extremist
groups can raise money and sell merchandise with dehumanizing racist
messages while vendors cash in on the profits.

As the organizational home to Right Wing Watch, we’re all too familiar
with how conspiracy theories and “big lies” – including those with the
power to incite violence, like Trump’s lies about the 2020 election – can
take root on these online platforms. In the past, we’ve taken measures
into our own hands to de-platform leading voices of hate – for example,
when Right Wing Watch’s reporting on how platforms like Spotify were
letting extreme conspiracy theorist Alex Jones run roughshod over their
terms of service, and it led to his channels and podcasts getting dropped
by Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, Apple, and other tech and media
companies.^1,2,3

The January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has exposed the urgency of
solving this problem. Companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon have
finally taken action to rein in some of the most dangerous purveyors of
destructive lies and conspiracy theories – from Donald Trump to a host of
QAnon accounts – but it’s not enough. We must demand more.

[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition now and demand that Congress and the Biden
administration take action to require tech companies to more strictly
regulate the content available on their platforms! >>

If the past year has proven anything, it’s that we can’t rely on tech
companies to self-regulate the content on their platforms.

While Facebook and Twitter have at least for the moment banned all
political advertising and have begun cracking down on influencers with
large followings who continue to spread lies and hate (such as Donald
Trump), it has been a race to the bottom as more tech platforms emerge
that are willing to allow such extremism to continue unfiltered and
unchecked.

It’s a dangerous game that cannot be allowed to continue as our democracy
hangs in the balance.

[ [link removed] ]Demand that Congress and the Biden administration prioritize ensuring
that tech companies hold their users accountable for the content they post
on their platforms! >>

For the same reasons that you’re not allowed to falsely yell “fire!” in a
crowded theater, people who post blatant lies and misinformation should
not be allowed to spread those lies and misinformation online – it poses
an imminent risk to public safety and wellbeing.

Tech companies have indeed transformed the way we live, work, and connect
online – mostly for the better, but they also must be held to account for
their continued failure to prevent the spread of the extremist content
that has exacerbated the hate and division that now plague our country.

The cost of inaction is far too great.

[ [link removed] ]Urge immediate action >>

Thanks for all you do,

Zach, People For the American Way

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[ [link removed] ]donate:

 

 

[1] [ [link removed] ]"Spotify Hosts Infowars Podcasts Despite Clear Rule-Breaking" Right
Wing Watch, 7/30/18

[2] [ [link removed] ]"Spotify Cancels ‘The Alex Jones Show’; Apple, Facebook and YouTube
Dump Infowars" Right Wing Watch, 8/6/18

[3] [ [link removed] ]"Meet Jared Holt, the guy who's getting Alex Jones kicked off the
internet" Salon, 8/8/18

 

 


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