A two-year audit of Facebook's civil rights record found "serious setbacks'' that have marred the social network's progress on matters such as hate speech, misinformation and bias. Facebook hired the audit's leader, former American Civil Liberties Union executive Laura Murphy, in May 2018 to assess its performance on vital social issues. The audit recommends that Facebook build a ``civil rights infrastructure'' into every aspect of the company, as well as a ``stronger interpretation'' of existing voter suppression policies and more concrete action on algorithmic bias. ``What we get is recommendations that they end up not implementing,'' said Rashad Robinson, the executive director of Color for Change, one of several civil rights nonprofits leading an organized boycott of Facebook advertising. ``This audit has been a deep analysis of how we can strengthen and advance civil rights at every level of our company _ but it is the beginning of the journey, not the end,'' she wrote.

Source: The Standard July 08, 2020 13:29 UTC