Meta Takes Steps on Civil Rights, More Work Is Needed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Charmaine Riley, [email protected], 202.548.7166

WASHINGTON — Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on Meta’s progress report on its civil rights audit commitments:

“We have long known that Facebook’s — now Meta’s — platforms are plagued by civil rights shortcomings. The audit undertaken by the company laid out clear and necessary steps to address these issues, and we continue to commend Meta for taking a hard look at its policies and practices. However, it is clear that more meaningful and substantial work must be done by Meta, and platforms alike, to confront their role in perpetuating social harms and assess how they are addressing critical civil rights concerns. 

“But an audit alone does not  fix problems of discrimination, disinformation, hate, violence, and inequity. Mark Zuckerberg and leadership need to fully empower Roy Austin and the civil rights team and provide all the resources necessary to meet the civil rights crises that beset Meta. We will continue to work with them to ensure that Meta’s practices and policies are aligned with our values of equity and inclusion. And we will continue to urge other social media platforms and technology companies to undertake similar reviews.”

Civil rights groups have long worked to convince Meta (Facebook) leadership that it must take clear and unequivocal action to address the use of its site to spread voter disinformation, to intimidate and incite hate against vulnerable populations, and to otherwise undermine democracy. Groups have also shared their expertise with Meta (Facebook) leadership to guide and inform necessary changes and encouraged the company to create an internal infrastructure of civil rights expertise to inform change.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 230 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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