A new policy-focused nonprofit that emerged from the recent wave of big tech scrutiny is calling for members of Facebooks Oversight Board to either step up or step down. In an open letter, Accountable Tech urges the five U.S.-based Facebook Oversight Board members to demand the Board be given real authority or quit their positions.
Each of you were selected to serve on this Board because of your outspoken commitment to free expression, human rights, and democratic values, the letters authors write. Now is the time to uphold those principles. We humbly ask that you refuse to be complicit in this Facebook charade that you demand sweeping and immediate changes, or walk away.
Accountable Tech is a progressive project founded by grassroots campaign organizer and director of the 2017 Tax March, Nicole Gill, and Jesse Lehrich, who served as foreign policy spokesperson for Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential bid. Lehrich worked on the Clinton campaigns response to Russian disinformation efforts that year, giving him a front row seat to emerging online threats to U.S. elections.
Facebook specializes in window dressing, Gill told TechCrunch. They have been touting the Oversight Board for years as this grandiose solution, but the platforms problems are more urgent than ever, and the Board is powerless.
A handful of other groups also signed the open letter, including the Center For American Progress Action Fund, Free Press and the Sierra Club. The letter cites findings from Facebooks recent civil rights audit that cast doubt on the boards real power and also notes the oversight bodys delayed timeline. First announced in late 2018, the board wont be up and running in time for the 2020 election.
Responding to criticism, the Facebook Oversight Boards head of communications Dex Hunter-Torricke defended the boards timeline as necessary given its mandate to evaluate many of the most challenging content issues on Facebook and Instagram. Hunter-Torricke added that the boards decisions on what content should be allowed or removed will be final and binding.
Building an institution capable of making thoughtful decisions on issues with enormous significance for communities around the world is something that takes time, Hunter-Torricke said. The Board is moving as quickly as possible to go operational, while acting with care.
Because it is ostensibly tasked with making decisions about what content should be removed from Facebook and Instagram, in theory the board could have played a role in ridding those platforms of election-related misinformation a looming threat with November around the corner. But restrictive bylaws coupled with a focus on reviewing content takedowns rather than content left up meant the oversight effort was widely regarded as toothless from the outset.
Board aside, Facebook is making some efforts to at least disseminate useful voting information to users, a defensive posture the company feels more comfortable in compared to playing offense against potential rule breaking. Last week, the company rolled out info labels on all voting-related posts from federal elected officials that link to vetted election information, a feature that will soon expand to all voting posts in the U.S.
In early June, Accountable Tech launched a memorable Facebook ad campaign targeting the companys employees on their own platform. The ads, which urged Facebook workers to hold the company to account, came a day after some employees staged a virtual walkout to protest a now-infamous post in which the president threatened to shoot people protesting the police killing of George Floyd.
Facebook also faced scrutiny recently for hosting Trumps false claims about mail-in voting and those falsehoods remain live on the platform without context or correction. These instances and others are cause for concern as the stakes for social platforms during the 2020 election inch higher and higher, worries made explicit by the open letters authors.
As we enter an unprecedented election seasonamid a global pandemic, an inflection point for racial justice, and a crisis of truthwe cannot accept Facebooks toxic status quo, much less a toothless Oversight Board that lends it a false air of legitimacy.
Visit link:
Tech watchdog calls on Facebook Oversight Board members to demand real power or resign - TechCrunch
- Stocks Close Higher With Amazon and Netflix Making Big Gains - Barron's - July 8th, 2020 [July 8th, 2020]
- Samsung needs a splashy product for its splashy product launch - The Verge - July 8th, 2020 [July 8th, 2020]
- Big Tech's Washington hearing will be a spectacle for the ages - Financial Post - July 8th, 2020 [July 8th, 2020]
- Dow gains more than 400 points after big tech rally, Amazon and Netflix hit records - CNBC - July 8th, 2020 [July 8th, 2020]
- Here Come the 4 Horsemen of the Techopolypse - The New York Times - July 8th, 2020 [July 8th, 2020]
- New records show 5,000+ contracts between big tech and the Pentagon - Business Insider - Business Insider - July 8th, 2020 [July 8th, 2020]
- Stock market rising on the indispensable companies - Minneapolis Star Tribune - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- Tech Stocks Have Been the Markets Stars. Are They Overbought? - Barron's - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- Tech Stocks Are Getting Scary. Why Theres No Way to Escape Them. - Barron's - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- Big Tech companies have got universities in their sights - Telegraph.co.uk - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- The National Research Cloud: Big Tech And Academic Research - Seeking Alpha - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- Nasdaq At Record as Investors Bet on Big Tech to Weather Virus Storm; Dow Falls - Yahoo Finance - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- Big Tech saved the day. We still dont trust them. - BetaBoston - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- Big tech, even bigger heart, provides shields to Hatzalah - The Riverdale Press - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- Cramer's earnings watch: 'If the banks get hammered, things could get ugly' - CNBC - July 13th, 2020 [July 13th, 2020]
- Big Tech joins fight against Trump's restrictions on international students - The Logic - July 13th, 2020 [July 13th, 2020]
- Pittsburgh Big tech companies are flocking to Pittsburgh. The foundation was laid over decades - Technical.ly Pittsburgh - Technical.ly - July 13th, 2020 [July 13th, 2020]
- Ask the Rational Investor: Is big tech too large? - Massillon Independent - July 13th, 2020 [July 13th, 2020]
- Big Tech went from growth stocks to Wall Street's Treasury bond substitute during the coronavirus - CNBC - July 13th, 2020 [July 13th, 2020]
- Thousands of contracts highlight quiet ties between Big Tech and U.S. military - NBC News - July 13th, 2020 [July 13th, 2020]
- The Information's Takeover Target List - The Information - July 18th, 2020 [July 18th, 2020]
- The Tension Between Competition and Tech Are Gaining Global Attention - JD Supra - July 18th, 2020 [July 18th, 2020]
- Cloudflare DNS goes down, taking a large piece of the internet with it - TechCrunch - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- As the Revolving Door Swings - The American Prospect - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Big Tech is Poised to Pounce on Banking - Global Banking And Finance Review - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- The Biggest Problem With Investing in Teladoc - The Motley Fool - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- How Palantir and Peter Thiel might lead the biggest tech IPO of the year - Vox.com - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Here's what happened to the stock market on Monday - CNBC - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- 'Big Tech' Pullback Explains Why Bitcoin Rally Has Paused in Q3 | NewsBTC - newsBTC - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Advertiser alliance, media companies, and Big Tech to collude and create a definition of hate speech - Reclaim The Net - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Congress has the legal power to investigate Silicon Valley. Let's make it count - The Guardian - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- The Problem with Big Ideas (and Some Ramblings on Virtual Desktops & Tech's Blurred Lines) - www.waterstechnology.com - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Here are all the battlefronts TikTok is currently fighting on - KTVZ - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Exxon has topped North Texas' biggest-companies list for 3 decades. Now there's a challenger to the throne - The Dallas Morning News - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- G20 Finance Officials Eye Solution to Digital Tax Row This Year - The New York Times - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Earnings and fiscal debate could be catalysts for stocks in the week ahead - CNBC - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Big Tech firms back suing Trump administration over rule that could drive out foreign students - Axios - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Big Techs latest reckoning is coming as it continues to rack up record valuations - MarketWatch - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Here's a new reason to invest in Europe - WICZ - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- Recovery from Covid-19 will be threatened if we don't learn to control big tech - The Guardian - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- Roku Is A Strong Gatekeeper In Streaming, But Could Be Crushed By Big Tech Analyst - Deadline - July 22nd, 2020 [July 22nd, 2020]
- The Conservative Inc. to Big Tech Pipeline - The American Conservative - July 22nd, 2020 [July 22nd, 2020]
- Are Facebook and Alexa really listening? 6 common tech myths debunked - USA TODAY - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- New Emails Reveal Warm Relationship Between Kamala Harris And Big Tech - HuffPost - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- Amazon-led rally boosts Jeff Bezos and Big tech"s billionaire boys - Proactive Investors USA & Canada - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Invited To Testify In Congressional Big Tech Hearing - The Federalist - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- EU-wide digital tax on big tech touted as best resource - EURACTIV - July 24th, 2020 [July 24th, 2020]
- Cramer says this tech stock rally is not like 1999 but here is what could stop it - CNBC - July 24th, 2020 [July 24th, 2020]
- Report Doorcast: Big Tech antitrust hearing preview and the Xbox Games Showcase breakdown - Report Door - July 24th, 2020 [July 24th, 2020]
- The one big thing each tech CEO will tell Congress - Axios - July 24th, 2020 [July 24th, 2020]
- Big Tech Unmasked as Anti-conservative by Project Veritas - Newsmax - July 24th, 2020 [July 24th, 2020]
- Antitrust Hearing Involving Apple Chief Tim Cook and Other Big Tech CEOs Reportedly Postponed - MacRumors - July 24th, 2020 [July 24th, 2020]
- Amazon To Invest In Reliance Retail: Is Big Tech Joining Hands To Conquer India? - Inc42 Media - July 26th, 2020 [July 26th, 2020]
- Zuckerberg, Bezos, other tech CEOs to testify at anti-trust hearing - Toronto Star - July 26th, 2020 [July 26th, 2020]
- Lily Allen says she feels sad and calls out big tech amid Wiley antisemitism row - The Independent - July 27th, 2020 [July 27th, 2020]
- Big Tech feels the heat from Washington and small agency leaders dish: Tuesday Wake-Up Call - AdAge.com - July 27th, 2020 [July 27th, 2020]
- Overzealous government officials should stay out of big tech's way - Washington Times - July 27th, 2020 [July 27th, 2020]
- Mint Lite | India covid tally, protests across globe, big tech CEOs & other news - Livemint - July 27th, 2020 [July 27th, 2020]
- Big tech antitrust probe report from US Congress likely by early fall - Times Now - July 27th, 2020 [July 27th, 2020]
- Antitrust Hearing Involving Apple Chief Tim Cook and Other Big Tech CEOs Reportedly Postponed [Update:... - MacRumors - July 27th, 2020 [July 27th, 2020]
- Congressional antitrust probe of Big Tech expected by early fall - The Globe and Mail - July 27th, 2020 [July 27th, 2020]
- Big Tech chiefs get brief reprieve from govt hearing into their growing power - ARNnet - July 27th, 2020 [July 27th, 2020]
- Lawmakers keen to break up 'big tech' like Amazon and Google need to realize the world has changed a lot since Microsoft and Standard Oil - Fairfield... - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- Stock futures are flat ahead of Fed decision and Big Tech testimony - CNBC - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- Ahead of hearing with big tech CEOs, Cicilline says a Biden presidency would lead to regulation next year - Yahoo News - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- Democrats hurt small business when they attack Big Tech | TheHill - The Hill - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- Tech leads stocks higher as CEOs testify and Fed keeps rates near zero - Fox Business - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- WATCH LIVE: Heads Of Amazon, Apple, Facebook And Google Testify On Big Tech's Power - NPR - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- Big Tech to Testify: What Jim Cramer Is Watching - TheStreet - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- Apple, Google, Amazon, other Big Tech companies have a climate problem; now being forced to clean up - Firstpost - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- Commentary: Big Tech is engaged in a hostile takeover of our country - TheBlaze.com - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- Slog AM: Big Tech's Anti-Trust Hearing, COVID-19 Goes to College, Boeing Is Boned - TheStranger.com - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- Big tech antitrust probe report from Congress likely by early fall - Reuters - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Vergecast: Big Tech antitrust hearing preview and the Xbox Games Showcase breakdown - The Verge - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Biased Big Tech algorithms limit our lives and choices. Stop the online discrimination. - USA TODAY - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Big 5 Tech Stocks Have Trounced the Market. So Have Their Fundamentals. - Barron's - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Top antitrust Democrat opens hearing by comparing big tech firms to past monopolies | TheHill - The Hill - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Big Tech antitrust hearing could be colossal or mere theater - Roll Call - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Stop with the egg metaphor in discussing Big Tech break-ups | TheHill - The Hill - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Sen. Hawley introduces bill to remove Big Tech's Section 230 ad immunity - Fox Business - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]