Human rights organizations made adjustments online as Meta held its annual general meeting virtually on Wednesday. The protests are urging the company to cease its systematic censorship of pro-Palestinian content on its social networks and among its employees.
On the day of action, approximately 200 Meta employees signed the letter. Earlier this month, Facebook employees called on CEO Mark Zuckerberg to end the company’s alleged censorship of voices advocating for Palestinian rights within the company. They called for more transparency regarding bias on the public platform and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Activists have long been urging Meta and other platforms to be more fair and transparent with content moderation. They emphasize the importance of pressuring shareholders, who can wield more influence than the general public.
Nadim Nassif, founder and president of 7amleh, a social media monitoring group involved in coordinating the effort, stated, “This issue has persisted for at least a decade with no significant improvements in policies. The situation has deteriorated in recent conflicts, prompting the need for alternative strategies like engaging shareholders.”
Recent public statements from Meta employees will be released soon. A separate petition circulated among employees received over 450 signatures in 2023. The employee who authored it claims to have faced HR investigation for violating company rules, echoing similar claims in the latest letter.
The letter highlighted Mehta’s actions creating a hostile environment for Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and “anti-genocide” colleagues. Many attempts to voice concerns through Workplace posts were censored, rejected, or punished, according to the letter.
Employees cited the company’s failure to address external complaints of censorship, including an external audit in 2023 exposing repeated censorship of pro-Palestinian voices three years ago. They also alleged that reasonable requests for transparency, including one from Sen. Elizabeth Warren in December 2023, were ignored.
During an investor call on Wednesday, Mehta evaded questions about Palestinian censorship, focusing on its AI project and addressing shareholder concerns about disinformation control. The company has not responded immediately to requests for comments on letters and petitions related to Palestinian-related content moderation.
Source: www.theguardian.com
