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The
audit report, which Facebook commissioned two years ago, pointed
to what the authors described as a series of harmful decisions,
including a "terrible precedent" not to intervene in posts in
recent weeks by President Donald Trump, which could allow the
platform to be "weaponized to suppress voting".
The findings come at a time when some 900 advertisers, including
major brands such as Coca-Cola, have joined a boycott promoted
by major U.S. civil rights groups including the Anti-Defamation
League and the NAACP.
"Many in the civil rights community have become disheartened,
frustrated and angry after years of engagement where they
implored the company to do more to advance equality and fight
discrimination, while also safeguarding free expression," the
auditors wrote.
Facebook commissioned the audit in 2018 as part of its response
to a range of criticism over issues such as data privacy, voter
suppression, incitement of violence and a lack of transparency
in political advertising. The audit was led by Laura Murphy, a
former director of the American Civil Liberties Union's
legislative office.
The company did not immediately indicate specific steps it would
take in response to the findings, but issued a statement
attributed to Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg describing
the audit as a "really important process for our company".
"Facebook stands firmly against hate," Sandberg said. "What has
become increasingly clear is that we have a long way to go."
The auditors said Facebook had been too willing to exempt
politicians from its rules, letting some spread misinformation,
harmful and divisive rhetoric, and even calls to violence.
Facebook has taken a hands-off approach to political speech
compared to rivals, notably leaving untouched posts by Trump in
recent weeks which were flagged by its rival Twitter for
falsehoods and incitement of violence.
One Trump tweet, labeled by Twitter as "potentially misleading",
said voting by mail - a common procedure in U.S. elections -
would be "substantially fraudulent".
"Allowing the Trump posts to remain establishes a terrible
precedent that may lead other politicians and non-politicians to
spread false information about legal voting methods, which would
effectively allow the platform to be weaponized to suppress
voting," the auditors said.
Organizers of the advertising boycott met for more than an hour
via video conference with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and
Sandberg on Tuesday. After the meeting, activists said they saw
"no commitment to action" from the company.
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru, Elizabeth
Culliford in London and Fanny Potkin in Jakarta; Editing by
Peter Graff)
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