Exposed: Facebook Fails the Ethical Challenge of Transparency
Revelations in the Guardian about the rules and codes Facebook has developed to deal with violence, terrorism, hate-speech and a multitude of other forms of online abuse, will reinforce a much-needed global debate about ethics and standards.
What is astonishing about the Facebook Files story this week is that it is the first glimpse from inside this notoriously secretive company about how it manages information.
With almost two billion users, Facebook is already the first truly global media company. It has the power to shape the social, cultural and political landscape of the Western world and is already under intense scrutiny by governments in the United States and Europe.
And it is good business. The company has become eye-wateringly rich by using technology to sell the personal information of its users. In April this year it was valued at more than $350 billion.
Its business model promotes anything that generates clicks and interest, even if it is false or abusive. It gives no priority to information as a public good, such as journalism, and it is overwhelmed by information overload.
As one insider told the Guardian: “Facebook cannot keep control of its content. It has grown too big, too quickly.”
The insights provided in the latest investigation show that although Facebook is not a traditional media company, it must take responsibility for how its technology is used.
Today the EJN's Tom Law talked about the issues around Facebook's lack of transparency and accountability when he presented the EJN's five point test at a workshop for European civil society groups run by the Media Diversity Institute in London as part of the Media Against Hate project.
If you would like to support the Ethical Journalism Network by translating our guidelines into you language contact Tom Law: tom.law@ethicaljournalismnetwork.org
Visit the Accountable Journalism database of codes of media ethics
