Is Holocaust Denial Free Speech? Facebook Needs to Be More Transparent
Editorial for Fortune, by CDT’s Emma Llansó:
Last week, representatives from major social media companies were brought before Congress to explain their approaches to removing online content. Specifically, some Republican members accused the companies of biased practices against conservative views. A day later, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted that while the company wants to limit the spread of disinformation, Facebook does not want to be the arbiter of truth for every topic, including Holocaust denial.
Altogether, this has launched a significant and understandable debate about whether Facebook and other social media platforms are taking down too much or too little content, especially with respect to hate speech and false information.
One thing is clear: We need better systems in place to determine what stays up and what comes down on social media sites. In particular, tech companies should focus on three areas: transparency, a clear appeals process, and user-empowerment tools.
