No Sanctions for Messages Justifying Violence
Some Employees Begin Strike
[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, who defended U.S. President Donald Trump by emphasizing the need to respect 'freedom of expression' online, has recently faced backlash amid protests across the United States. Some Facebook employees have expressed disagreement with Zuckerberg's views and have initiated a strike.
On the 1st (local time), according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and others, Jace Sturman, Facebook Design Manager, posted on his LinkedIn page, "I am a Facebook employee who does not agree with Mark Zuckerberg's decision to take no action on Trump's recent posts." He added, "I am not the only employee who thinks this way at Facebook," and stated, "There is no neutral position on racism." Jason Toff, a Facebook executive, tweeted, "I work at Facebook, but I am not proud of Facebook's external policies," and said, "Most of my colleagues feel the same way."
On that day, some Facebook employees temporarily suspended their work and went on strike. Even some executives chose to strike, and employees working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic participated by not logging into the company system.
The decisive trigger for Facebook employees to strike was President Trump's post on Twitter and Facebook on the 29th of last month, which said, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts." Twitter hid the post, citing a violation of its policies against glorifying violence, while Facebook took no action and left the post visible, reigniting controversy.
Previously, Twitter had actively taken measures such as attaching 'fact-check' labels to President Trump's posts that could mislead the truth and deleting posts that incited violence. In contrast, Facebook has maintained the stance that private companies should not intervene in everything people say online. Despite President Trump posting messages that could be interpreted as justifying violence in connection with the death of George Floyd, a Black man, Facebook's policy of not imposing any sanctions led some employees to voice opinions directly opposed to Zuckerberg's.
Zuckerberg also issued a statement. He said, "I also find President Trump's post unpleasant," but added, "However, I will not delete the post." He continued, "I know many people disagree, but I believe that the more dangerous the claims and statements are, the better it is for them to be publicized." He explained, "Especially regarding this post by President Trump, I thought it was necessary for the public to know whether the government is planning to use force in relation to the protests."
Furthermore, Zuckerberg announced that he would donate $10 million to organizations working on racial issues, stating, "There is much work to be done to keep people safe and to ensure our systems do not amplify bias."
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