Facebook, Twitter Pledge to Take Down Hate Speech in 24 Hours or Less
"There is a clear distinction between freedom of expression and conduct that incites violence and hate.”
5.31.2016
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In partnership with the European Union, social media giants Facebook, Twitter, along with Google and Microsoft, have all pledged to stop online hate speech in less than 24 hours.
A new code of conduct would act to "quickly and efficiently" remove any message that singles out a person's or group's race, religion, nationality, etc. Though pitched as a way to stop the spread of terrorism online in the wake of the ISIS attacks in Paris and Brussels, the speech code would include anything considered racist, homophobic, or anti-Semitic by the companies.
A statement by Karen White, Twitter's head of public policy for Europe, said:
We remain committed to letting the Tweets flow. However, there is a clear distinction between freedom of expression and conduct that incites violence and hate.
Facebook's head of global policy management Monika Bicker said:
With a global community of 1.6 billion people we work hard to balance giving people the power to express themselves whilst ensuring we provide a respectful environment. There’s no place for hate speech on Facebook.
Speaking on behalf of the EU was Commissioner Vera Jourova, in charge of justice, consumers and gender equality, said there's "no place online" for hate speech.
A lawsuit was filed against Twitter, Facebook and Google by a French Jewish youth group in Paris over how speech is monitored on the platforms. The group argued that over 90 percent of posts flagged for hate speech remained online up to 15 days after the removal requests were sent.
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