• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave

2

MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly

3

After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history

1

26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave

2

MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly

3

After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history
TechFortune Global Forum

Nearly 80 Rights Groups Accuse Facebook of ‘Racially Biased Censorship’

By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 18, 2017, 1:13 PM ET
INTERNET-COMMUNITY-FACEBOOK-ILLUSTRATION
Photograph by Loic Venance—AFP/Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Nearly 80 rights groups on Wednesday accused Facebook of “racially biased censorship” and failing to be more transparent about its removal policies and cooperation with law enforcement, adding to criticism the company has faced in recent months over its management of content on its network of 1.8 billion users.

The sharp rebuke, sent in response to a December letter from Senior Vice President Joel Kaplan, reflected increasing impatience among advocacy groups that say Facebook has inadequately addressed their concerns despite repeated promises of action from senior executives.

Instead, the groups wrote, Kaplan’s response “merely explains current, publicly available Facebook policies and fails to address the modest solutions to racially biased censorship we presented in earlier letters and meetings.” SumOfUs, Center for Media Justice, and the American Civil Liberties Union were among the signatories.

In his letter, Kaplan acknowledged Facebook’s community operations team “sometimes get things wrong” but said the company was committed to correcting mistakes and working with outside partners.

Facebook (FB) has been persistently criticized in the past year over how it polices everything from harassment and extremist propaganda to gun sales and news hoaxes on its enormous platform, a multifaceted challenge the company has often responded to with tweaks of its existing terms of service and community standards. More recently, the company has faced controversy regarding displays of violence broadcast in live video.

Last week the company announced a new “Journalism Project” intended to improve and deepen its relationship with news organizations, one of a series of moves taken in response to a storm of opprobrium that it did not do enough to tackle the problem of fake news stories during the U.S. presidential campaign.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

In their letter, the rights groups said their organizations had experienced an “uneven application” of Facebook’s community standards and drawbacks that come with relying on users to report abusive content. Racial justice activists routinely have content that discusses racism or protests removed, they said, while harassment and threats targeting users on the basis of race, religion and sexual orientation are “thriving” on Facebook.

“This pattern of censorship represents a double standard, one that seems to be addressed only through direct activist intervention or significant media attention,” the groups wrote.

Facebook employs a multilayered system to handle more than a million content complaints a day. Most complaints are flagged by users and reviewed by low-level staffers and contractors who consult a thick rule book to interpret and apply its comparatively spare community standards that users are asked to follow.

The rights groups made several recommendations to Facebook in its letter, including allowing users to appeal removals not just for profiles or pages but individual posts.

They also recommended giving users a written justification when a post is removed, producing a public report that would include figures on content removals and the number of takedown requests submitted by law enforcement, and additional training on racial discrimination for content reviewers.

The coalition requested a meeting by early February at Facebook’s Menlo Park headquarters to discuss its concerns and recommendations.

About the Author
By Reuters
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Klook cofounder Ethan Lin thinks the U.S. can help grow one of Asia’s largest travel platforms
AsiaAsia Agenda
Klook cofounder Ethan Lin thinks the U.S. can help grow one of Asia’s largest travel platforms
By Angelica AngJuly 15, 2026
7 hours ago
ibm
Big TechIBM
‘We did not adapt and move quickly enough’: IBM CEO’s admission of weakness fails to prevent historic 25% stock crash
By Tatiana SatauaJuly 15, 2026
7 hours ago
usa
AIearnings
Why IBM just suffered its worst stock crash of all time—and what it says about the market’s two bubbles
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 15, 2026
8 hours ago
mark
LawSocial Media
YouTube appeals verdict, argues it isn’t a social media platform
By Kaitlyn Huamani and The Associated PressJuly 15, 2026
8 hours ago
A woman at a police commission meeting stands behind a podium speaking animatedly.
North AmericaPrivacy
LAPD was one of Flock Safety’s biggest government customers. Now it’s renegotiating its partnership over ‘serious concerns around civil liberties’
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 15, 2026
8 hours ago
OpenAI wants its speaker to feel alive. Apple says it’s a stolen idea
AIOpenAI
OpenAI wants its speaker to feel alive. Apple says it’s a stolen idea
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 15, 2026
9 hours ago

Most Popular

26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
Law
26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
By Barbara Ortutay, Alexandra Olson and The Associated PressJuly 15, 2026
15 hours ago
MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly
Newsletters
MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly
By Sydney LakeJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago
After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history
North America
After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago
Jamie Dimon understands why people are anti-rich: 'We have, in fact, left the lower-income folks behind' and 'that's kind of annoying'
Economy
Jamie Dimon understands why people are anti-rich: 'We have, in fact, left the lower-income folks behind' and 'that's kind of annoying'
By Eleanor PringleJuly 15, 2026
17 hours ago
He sold his last company to Palantir. Now he's betting $32 million that robots can fix construction's labor crisis
Innovation
He sold his last company to Palantir. Now he's betting $32 million that robots can fix construction's labor crisis
By Lily Mae LazarusJuly 15, 2026
16 hours ago
FedEx CEO says we are in the middle of the biggest supply chain shift he’s seen in 35 years: ‘We are the referendum’
C-Suite
FedEx CEO says we are in the middle of the biggest supply chain shift he’s seen in 35 years: ‘We are the referendum’
By Fortune EditorsJuly 15, 2026
13 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.