Revealed: Facebook’s internal rulebook on sex, terrorism and violence
Web Publication: The Guardian, by Nick Hopkins
In the age in which Facebook quietly rules the personal media selection of hundreds of millions of people, this is something that you should be aware of. Most people don’t know what goes on in the larger Facebook world because their feed is based on trusted friends, associates, and friendly content courtesy of Facebook’s algorithms.
So it is a dark world out there: revenge porn, death threats, actual online murder, cruelty and abuse to children and animals, etc. This is the first thing that will shock some people. But if you’ve followed the news, you’ve seen glimpses of these disturbing social media trends hit the major media.
On the other side of the equation is a wrenching debate about whether Facebook is censoring user provided speech or is it allowing or even encouraging all manner of depravity to reach the public.
The Guardian article lays bare what goes on behind the scenes at Facebook as they deliberate how to balance two sides of the debate. My question: why did this have to be revealed by someone snooping? While it is impossible to agree with where they actually draw the line on all counts, there appears to be an attempt at a reasoned thought process behind it. While keeping this information secret may have been calculated to not have a million people screaming their opinions at them, there are some advantages to disclosure. I’d propose that although the Facebook folks have been good at building the largest media platform in history, this very small group of young techies are profoundly ill equipped to be the only arbiters of ethics on this platform. Ethics is so much bigger than Face book is it not? If the crowd screaming was well managed, crowd sourcing may ultimately be a more complete solution. After all, that’s what they do with trillions of bits of content on a daily basis.
I’m not at all comfortable with how Facebook blocks or allows content in some areas but I’d never put myself forward as an expert or final judge, neither do I solely trust Facebook, at all. I’d much prefer to see people that have dedicated their life to ethics, philosophy, and theology have a hand in this.