The takeaways
- Stop Hate for Profit, a United States-based advocacy campaign, has recruited over 160 companies to pause their advertising on Facebook’s platforms.
- With global companies like Verizon and Unilever joining, the campaign now looks to expand into the EU and other territories.
- As other companies pause social media advertising independently of the campaign, Facebook will finally label potentially dangerous content.
What happened?
#StopHateforProfit, the anti-hate speech campaign calling on tech companies to suspend Facebook advertising through July, is advancing to the international level. Jim Steyer, chief executive of Common Sense Media and an organiser of the campaign, told Reuters on Saturday that the campaign is planning to expand globally.
Launched by U.S. civil rights groups Color of Change and the Anti-Defamation League with Common Sense and Free Press after the death of George Floyd, over 160 companies have since joined #StopHateforProfit. The campaign aims to pressure Facebook into taking a harder stance against hosting hate and racist content on its platforms. Jessica Gonzalez, Free Press’s co-chief executive, said she has invited leading U.S. telecommunications and media companies to join the campaign.
The “next frontier is global pressure” – Jim Steyer
Stop Hate for Profit now plans to advise the EU to take a tougher stance against social media companies. The European Commission announced new guidelines requiring social media companies to submit monthly reports on their efforts to address misinformation on their platforms.
Citing Honda and Unilever as examples, Reuters noted that the ad pauses have been confined to the U.S. so far. Steyer responded that they will urge global advertisers to suspend their Facebook ads worldwide.
Last Friday, Facebook announced that it would label potentially harmful posts. Other companies, including Coca-Cola, Beam Suntory and Starbucks, have also announced ad pauses on social media platforms, but are not joining #StopHateforProfit.
For data analysis on the pause’s effects, see this article from Forbes.
