Facebook Opens New Can Of Worms As List Of ‘Dangerous’ People Surfaces
Image via Allmy / Shutterstock.com
Mark Zuckerberg and his colleagues at Facebook haven’t been having the most peaceful of weeks. From a worldwide outage on all its platforms, to a whistleblower testifying the company chose profits over users’ safety, it’s now facing yet another problem due to the latest leak.
The Intercept published a report on a list of “dangerous individuals and organizations” the social media platform supposedly bans from its apps, most of whom are believed to be terrorists, white supremacists, or military movements.
Experts noted that over half of the names on the list were of suspected foreign terrorists or factions from the Middle East or South Asia, saying this could be a telltale sign the company deals more severe consequences onto marginalized or minority groups.
According to CNET, Facebook divides the list into three tiers, with Tier 1 being the most stringent. Terrorist organizations, hate groups, or known criminals were placed here.
Other groups, such as right-wing anti-government militias, or white supremacists, are placed in the least restrictive Tier 3.
Facebook’s Policy Director for Counterterrorism and Dangerous Organizations, Brian Fishman, said The Intercept’s list didn’t give the full picture, as the firm was constantly updating the names on it.
“Defining and identifying dangerous organizations globally is extremely difficult. There are no hard and fast definitions agreed upon by everyone,” Fishman explained.
He disagreed with experts’ thoughts on Facebook targeting a disproportionate number of minority groups, arguing that many terrorist organizations have multiple entities, which when listed as separate groups, could skew the list. He also pointed out that over 250 white supremacist organizations have been included in Tier 1.
As to why Facebook doesn’t make the list public, Fishman said it wants “to limit legal risk, limit security risks, and minimize opportunities for groups to circumvent rules.”
To view the full list, head over here.
[via CNET, cover image via Allmy / Shutterstock.com]
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