Companies urged to battle online sexual harassment

Arjuna Capital said it’s filing resolutions that will press Facebook and Twitter to do more

Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have helped shine a brighter spotlight on sexual harassment, but some women are still dealingwith online rape threats and derogatory comments.

Now, activist investors are pressing these tech firms to do more to combat online sexual harassment.

Investment firm Arjuna Capital and the New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli proposed shareholder resolutions on Thursday asking that the tech firms produce a report about

the scope of sexual harassment on their platforms and whether efforts to combat that behavior are working.

“Sexual harassment is not relegated to the workplace, and for far too long, it has existed virtually unchecked over social media. This abuse threatens the emotionalwell-being of users, their privacy and their reputations,” said Natasha Lamb, managing director of Arjuna Capital, in a press conference on Thursday.

Action by social media firms have been “inadequate,” she said, and users could leave the platform if they feel unsafe, threatening the “long-term shareholder value” of these companies.

The resolutions also address other issues facing social media companies including fake news and vio- lence.

“The potential for financial risk grows with each controversy in the public spotlight,” said Patrick Doherty, co- director of corporate governance for the New York State Comptroller’s Office, during the press conference. “Obviously, these are issues that are not going away and there is going to bemore andmore attention paid to them in the coming year.”

Facebook and Twitter should produce a report to shareholders “reviewing the efficacy of its enforcement of its terms of service related to content policies and assessing the risks posed by content management controversies ( including election interference, fake news, hate speech, sexual harassment, and violence) to the company’s finances, operations and reputation,” the resolutions state.

Facebook and Twitter declined to comment. It was unclear Thursday whether these resolutions will be voted on in Twitter’s and Facebook’s annual stockholders meetings this year.

Social media companies have policies that prohibit online harassment, but some users question whether these tech firms are doing enough.

Last week, Kelly Ellis, a former Google software engineer who is suing the tech firm for allegedly paying women less than men, received amessage on Twitter from a former Google contractor saying that she deserved to be raped.

At the same time, the rise of the #MeToo movement on social media has empowered some women to speak publicly about sexual harassment.

Women are more likely to experience online sexual harassment compared to men, according to the Pew Research Center.

About 21 percent of women ages 18 to 29 reported experiencing sexual harassment online compared to 9 percent of men in that age group, according to a 2017 survey conducted by the center.

Arjuna Capital also has pressed Facebook and other Silicon Valley tech firms in the past to disclose more about what they’re doing to combat fake news.

With Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg holding the majority of Facebook’s voting rights, though, those proposals haven’t successfully passed.

The company argued last year that preparing a report about the impact of fake news on its platforms was “unnecessary” and “not beneficial” to stockholders.

But with Zuckerberg vowing to do more this year to fix some of the problems plaguing Facebook, the shareholders hope that their proposals stand a better chance.

“I am fairly optimistic that our concerns are being heard,” Lamb said.