Today, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Diversity Task Force Co-Chairs Rep. G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) and Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-13) gave the following statement on Facebook’s civil rights audit report. The nearly 30-page document is the product of dozens of meetings with Facebook’s appointed civil rights ambassador, Laura Murphy and nearly 90 civil rights groups who have called for Facebook to take meaningful and aggressive action to combat extremist or racist content on their platform:
“It is imperative that we recognize the importance of preserving and protecting civil rights. We also must condemn bad actors. The civil rights attacks on social media platforms are moving quickly and aggressively; thus, the response of Facebook and similar platforms must be just as swift and sure. We cannot afford to purely pontificate or provide promises without creating concrete policies.
“While the audit report is a step in the right direction, the damage of the discriminatory behavior is done and will continue without substantive and measurable action. Considering the gravity of the matter, we expect far more from Facebook to ensure accountability. The public should have full confidence that Facebook has a clear plan to address acts on the platform that lead to hate, discrimination or violation of civil rights protections.”
