Clegg defends Facebook’s stance on hate speech as boycott grows
FORMER YORKSHIRE MP Sir Nick Clegg has jumped to Facebook’s defence on the issue of hate speech as Lego joined the growing list of global firms to halt advertising on the platform.
The social network has been hit by a widening boycott after it refused to take down a post by US President Donald Trump.
During Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, the US president said: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
In an open letter, former Liberal Democrat leader and Sheffield Hallam MP Sir Nick said the tech giant understands many critics are angry about the president’s “inflammatory rhetoric”.
“When content falls short of being classified as hate speech – or of our other policies aimed at preventing harm or voter suppression – we err on the side of free expression because, ultimately,
‘Rooting out the hate is like looking for a needle in a haystack.’
the best way to counter hurtful, divisive, offensive speech, is more speech,” he said.
“With so much content posted every day, rooting out the hate is like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
Hundreds of companies have responded to the #StopHateforProfit campaign by pausing adverts on the platform, while others are reassessing use across all social media sites.
Big names including CocaCola, Adidas and Unilever are among the list.
Several reports claim that Facebook executives have held crisis talks with marketing and advertising agencies in a bid to ease concerns.
Facebook says it has spent billions of dollars each year in people and technology to keep the platform safe, tripling its safety and security workforce to more than 35,000.
Sir Nick – who joined Facebook as its head of communications in 2018 – said tomorrow Facebook user of voting age in the US will be given information on the top of their News Feed on how to register to vote, arguing that “the only way to hold the powerful to account is ultimately through the ballot box”.