Facebook develops civil liberties job force, promises to secure 2020 census

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Facebook launched the 2nd upgrade to its continuous civil liberties audit.


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Facebook is making an internal civil liberties job force long-term, COO Sheryl Sandberg stated in a post Sunday, a choice that outgrew a continuous evaluation of the civil liberties effect of the social media network’s policies and practices. The job force, that includes essential management and is to be chaired by Sandberg, will concentrate on Facebook’s content policies, the fairness of its expert system, and concerns relating to personal privacy and elections, locations Facebook has actually had problem with.

In her post, Sandberg stated the social media network is devoted to hiring individuals with civil liberties competence to serve on the job force. For example, it’ll deal with ballot rights specialists to make sure the social media network isn’t utilized to reduce or daunt some citizens. 

The formalization of the job force, in addition to suggestions on policing hate speech, brand-new policies on ads and efforts to secure the stability of elections and the 2020 census, were consisted of in the business’s 2nd development report on its civil liberties audit, which was likewise released Sunday. The very first installation was released in December, and a 3rd and last report is anticipated in the very first half of next year. 

“We will continue listening to feedback from the civil rights community and address the important issues they’ve raised so Facebook can better protect and promote the civil rights of everyone who uses our services,” Sandberg composed in a draft of the post. The audit states that the job force will satisfy regular monthly.

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The civil rights audit comes as Facebook wrestles with complaints that it’s been used to target minority groups, stir white nationalism and discourage voting. Two years ago, 19 civil rights groups, including Color of Change, Muslim Advocates and the NAACP, expressed concern that Facebook had become a tool of Russian trolls seeking to divide the US. The groups also asked that Facebook bring in a third party to audit the civil rights impact of the company’s policies. The company agreed in May 2018, and Laura Murphy, a civil liberties leader who worked with the ACLU for two decades, has spearheaded the review. 

Facebook has also been accused, by President Donald Trump among others, of censoring conservative voices.

Tensions between Facebook and civil rights groups escalated last year after The New York Times reported that public relations firm Definers Public Affairs tried to discredit Facebook’s critics by linking them to George Soros, a Jewish billionaire who’s been the target of anti-Semitic and far-right conspiracy theories for championing progressive causes.

Civil rights groups praised Facebook’s focus on the issue but criticized the company for being slow to act.

The Change the Terms coalition, which is made up of civil rights organizations, nonprofits and other groups, said it was expecting the company to combat hate speech more quickly in the wake of mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that left 51 people dead and was livestreamed on Facebook.

“Facebook remains turtle-slow to change,” said Henry Fernandez, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and member of Change the Terms, in a statement. “Relying primarily on monthly meetings of executives and a couple of outside consultants with civil rights expertise is a step forward but insufficient.” 

The ongoing audit has already resulted in policy changes at Facebook, which has more than 2 billion users around the world. The December report showed the social network had beefed up efforts to combat voter suppression, as well as fake accounts designed to influence political views. In March, Facebook banned white nationalist and white separatist content, saying such content couldn’t be “meaningfully separated from white supremacy and organized hate groups.” The change was highlighted in Sunday’s report.

Meanwhile, Facebook’s technology, including AI, is getting better at recognizing hate speech on its own, the report said. As of March, Facebook removed more than 65% of hate speech that it identified before a user reported it, more than double the 24% figure from December 2017, according to the report. The company may have some of its content moderators specialize in hate speech so that posts warning of hate speech aren’t inappropriately removed because they repeat problematic content. 

The report also addressed changes to Facebook’s ad targeting system, including adjustments that make it more difficult for advertisers to exclude some groups from receiving housing, employment and credit ads. It also listed efforts to protect elections and encourage participation in the census. 

In addition to the task force, Sandberg said the company would provide civil rights training to key employees working on relevant products and policies. The training is meant to increase awareness of civil rights issues and build them into decisions. 

“We know these are the first steps to developing long-term accountability,” Sandberg wrote. “We plan on making further changes to build a culture that explicitly protects and promotes civil rights on Facebook.” 

Originally published June 30
Update, July 1: Includes comments from civil rights groups