Hi,
Facebook knew its platform was harming users and undermining democracy --
and did nothing about it.
According to a new whistleblower, Facebook failed to act on internal
research confirming the harmful effects of various programs.^1 This
includes one that allowed 5.8 million of Facebook's users with the most
global reach to post on its platform without any oversight of harassment,
misinformation, or incitements to violence -- including Donald Trump. In
2019, Facebook found the program "not publicly defensible."
But instead of bringing its practices into line with the public interest,
Facebook continued to allow Trump and other powerful people to spread
misinformation. And it weren't for internal Facebook documents leaked to
the WSJ, we'd be none the wiser.
Then Facebook went and showed everyone what happens when monopolies are
allowed to form: not only did Facebook crash on Monday, they took
Instagram and WhatsApp with them.
Time and again, Facebook proves it will not moderate itself or protect
internet users. The company is too big to entrust with our mental health,
our access to information, and our democracy. [ [link removed] ]Sign the petition: tell
Congress and federal regulators to break up Facebook!
ADD YOUR NAME
Facebook reacts to bad press -- for example, by pausing its rollout of
Instagram Kids amid intense criticism -- but the social media behemoth
will never proactively promote the public interest. Their entire business
model is built on promoting controversial content in order to keep users
on the site viewing ads the company sells.
That's why Congress and federal regulators must force Facebook to break up
the company Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger.
Facebook won't stop breaching personal privacy and manipulating the
political landscape just because we ask nicely. Instead, we have to end
its monopoly power. As long as the company owns so much of the social
media landscape, they'll have little incentive to change their behavior.
The 'Facebook Files' also reported that Facebook knew about — and did not
adequately address — instances of human rights violations such as human
trafficking taking place on the platform. Nor did the company address
evidence that a 2018 News Feed algorithm change caused an increase in
politically divisive content or research showing that Instagram harms
mental health, particularly among teen girls.
Facebook knows what it's doing. They won't reform themselves no matter how
much bad press they get. It's time for the federal government to act.
[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition to rein in the power of Facebook!
Thanks for taking action,
Izzi and the team at Demand Progress
[ [link removed] ]DONATE
Sources:
1. Wall Street Journal, "The Facebook Files," [ [link removed] ]September 16, 2021.
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