Dear John,
Today, Facebook’s bought and paid for Oversight Board upheld Trump's temporary ban from the platform but is giving Facebook’s leaders another 6-months to decide if they want to allow Trump to once again have access to his bully pulpit to stoke the flames of white nationalism and incite violence against Black communities and our allies.1
Let’s be clear: what should have been swift and decisive action from Facebook to remove Trump from its platform years ago is instead an ongoing months-long bureaucratic process because Facebook’s leadership refuses to take responsibility for their harms against our democracy. Facebook has once again shown its priorities lie with maintaining profits over the safety of Black communities and democracy.
Time and time again, we’ve learned that we cannot trust Facebook to do what is right, and this decision lays bare the urgent need for Congress and the Biden-Harris administration to create new rules of the road to reign in Facebook’s stronghold on our democracy. John, that’s why we’re asking, will you chip in $5 to help us fight back against Trump and Facebook’s refusal to do what is right?
Regardless of Facebook’s decision to punt their decision on Trump down the road, we know that Facebook has consistently fallen short in managing white nationalist ideologies and groups on its platform. We know these groups are plotting on Facebook to cause direct harm and danger for Black people.2 We saw it with Kyle Rittenhouse.3 We know white nationalist groups are operating overtly on Facebook to undermine Black voters and democracy. We saw it on January 6.4 We will see it again.5
Facebook and other tech behemoths, like YouTube and Twitter, have all grown beyond their own ability to ensure our safety. We need to reduce their power to do harm at scale. Any platform with enough power to literally enable a white nationalist coup attempt is a platform that is too big, and one that needs federal regulation now.
From the drastic increase in hate crimes we’ve seen against Black and marginalized people over the past four years, to what we saw at the Capitol earlier this year, social media platforms will continue to play an oversized role in undermining the democracy of this country unless Congress and the Biden-Harris administration commit to regulating the tech industry by breaking up tech monopolies and changing the dangerous incentives in the digital economy. Will you chip in $5 to support our work to break up the dangerous monopoly these platforms have formed and create policies that curb their ability to profit from engagement on hate and misinformation?
Until justice is real,
—Jade Magnus Ogunnaike and the Color Of Change team
References:
- “Oversight Board upholds former President Trump’s suspension, finds Facebook failed to impose proper penalty,” Facebook Oversight Board, May 5, 2021 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/303627?t=8&akid=50842%2E4731121%2EZsfgVD.
- Kari Paul, “'It Let White Supremacists Organize': The Toxic Legacy of Facebook's Groups,” The Guardian, February 4, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/303628?t=10&akid=50842%2E4731121%2EZsfgVD.
- “Alison Durkee “Zuckerberg Admits Facebook ‘Mistake’ in Leaving Up Kenosha Guard ‘Call to Arms’,” Forbes, August 28, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/303629?t=12&akid=50842%2E4731121%2EZsfgVD.
- Craig Silverman, Ryan Mac, & Jane Lytyvenko, “Facebook Knows It Was Used to Help Incite the Capitol Insurrection,” Buzzfeed, April 22, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/303630?t=14&akid=50842%2E4731121%2EZsfgVD.
- Craig Silverman, Ryan Mac, & Jane Lytyvenko, “Facebook Stopped Employees From Reading an Internal Report About Its Role in the Insurrection. You Can Read It Here,” Buzzfeed, April 26, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/303631?t=16&akid=50842%2E4731121%2EZsfgVD.
Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Please help keep our movement strong.
