Facebook sued for 'deceptive practices' over disinformation on platform
Facebook has failed to live up to its promises of creating a “safe” and “errorfree” online environment, according to a new lawsuit filed by the press freedom not-for-profit Reporters without Borders.
The organization alleged in a court filing on Tuesday that Facebook is guilty of “deceptive commercial practices” for promising users in its terms of service that it would provide “safe, secure and error-free environment”, one that cannot be used to “share anything (…) that is unlawful, misleading, discriminatory or fraudulent”.
“The reality is quite different,” Reporters Without Borders said in a statement. “[Facebook] allows disinformation and hate speech to flourish on its network – hatred in general and hatred against journalists – contrary to the claims made in its terms of service and through its ads.”
The suit has been filed in France, and names the French and Irish divisions of Facebook. Under European Union law, a business can be sued if it violates Consumer Code, which protects consumers from “deceptive business practices”.
Facebook is unlikely to be forced to make substantial long-term change under the new suit, but such practices under EU law are punishable by two years’ imprisonment and a fine of €300,000 ($356,000). However, for larger companies the fine can be as high as 10% of average annual turnover. Facebook made $86bn in 2020, meaning it could be fined up to $8.6bn, or about €7.6bn.
The lawsuit cites a variety of research that underscores how Facebook’s failure to put a stop to misinformation has negatively affected EU users and constitutes a deceptive practice.
For example, Facebook was recently identified as “the hub of vaccine conspiracy theories” in French-speaking communities by the non-profit antidisinformation organization First Draft. The lawsuit, according to a draft of the complaint, also cites a report that details billions of interactions with deceptive sites on Facebook.
Facebook has announced a number of policies to address misinformation, banning several movements known for spreading false information outright. But reports have shown the application of these policies to be less than perfect.
A new report released on Tuesday, conducted by the non-profit advocacy group Avaaz, found that users in hun
dreds of groups on the platform continued to glorify violence during the 2020 election and in the weeks leading up to the deadly attack on the US Capitol. The report identified 267 pages and groups on Facebook that it said spread violence-glorifying material in the heat of the 2020 election to a combined following of 32 million users.
Many of these posts were tied to QAnon, boogaloo and militia movements – groups supposed to be banned on Facebook officially. But despite what Avaaz called “clear violations” of Facebook’s policies, it found that 119 of these pages and groups were still active on the platform as of 18 March.
Facebook said late on Monday that of the 119 that Avaaz found, only 18 “actually violated” Facebook’s policies. Four had already been removed before Monday and Facebook has now taken down the remaining 14.
The company said in a statement responding to the report that it had done more than any other internet company to stanch the flow of harmful material, citing its bans of “nearly 900 militarized social movements” and the removal of tens of thousands of QAnon pages, groups, and accounts. It added that it was always improving its efforts against misinformation.
The Reporters Without Borders lawsuit marks the latest stumbling block for Facebook as its international battles with legislators continue, with legislation in Australia forcing the platform to pay publishers, a privacy lawsuit in Belgium threatening to enforce fines against Facebook for privacy violations, and a growing pile of lawsuits against Facebook in the US.
Facebook is also facing pressure from US lawmakers over alleged anticompetitive behavior. One lawsuit, filed against Facebook by a coalition of US attorneys general in December, accuses Facebook of using its power and acquisitions of its rivals to stifle user growth for competing services. A similar suit has been launched by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is seeking a permanent injunction in federal court that could force Facebook to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp. On Thursday, the company will join other executives in the US to testify about antitrust concerns.