{"id":6357,"date":"2021-12-12T01:28:23","date_gmt":"2021-12-12T09:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedaily.ca\/news\/?p=6357"},"modified":"2021-12-12T01:39:50","modified_gmt":"2021-12-12T09:39:50","slug":"a-lobbyist-who-has-to-make-the-president-happy-is-part-of-facebooks-content-moderation-employees-complain-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedaily.ca\/news\/2021\/12\/12\/a-lobbyist-who-has-to-make-the-president-happy-is-part-of-facebooks-content-moderation-employees-complain-report\/","title":{"rendered":"A ‘lobbyist who has to make the president happy’ is part of Facebook’s content moderation, employees complain: report"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ global_module=”6363″ saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/thedaily.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/12\/E84D6B08-8454-4825-B9E1-F8EB6CBEF82B.jpeg” title_text=”E84D6B08-8454-4825-B9E1-F8EB6CBEF82B” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.12.1″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image title_text=”0EA6994E-991B-45CE-AB39-0C153CBAA8D8″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.12.1″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” src=”https:\/\/thedaily.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/12\/0EA6994E-991B-45CE-AB39-0C153CBAA8D8.jpeg” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]Facebook employees have been sounding the alarm over the role that the company’s policy shop \u2014 which is in charge of engaging with and lobbying lawmakers in Washington, DC and elsewhere \u2014 takes in sensitive content moderation decisions, according to a new report by POLITICO<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Joel Kaplan, a former Bush administration official and Republican operative, oversees the company’s lobbying and government relations team. Employees complained that his involvement in content moderation has led to the protection of “powerful constituencies,” especially on the political right.<\/p>\n

“Facebook routinely makes exceptions for powerful actors when enforcing content policy,” said one data scientist at the company in a December 2020 presentation provided to POLITICO<\/a>. “The standard protocol for enforcement and policy involves consulting Public Policy on any significant changes, and their input regularly protects powerful constituencies.”<\/p>\n

“Public policy typically are interested in the impact on politicians and political media, and they commonly veto launches which have significant negative impacts on politically sensitive actors,” the presentation also read.<\/p>\n

Facebook employees have been sounding the alarm over the role that the company’s policy shop \u2014 which is in charge of engaging with and lobbying lawmakers in Washington, DC and elsewhere \u2014 takes in sensitive content moderation decisions, according to a new report by POLITICO<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Joel Kaplan, a former Bush administration official and Republican operative, oversees the company’s lobbying and government relations team. Employees complained that his involvement in content moderation has led to the protection of “powerful constituencies,” especially on the political right.<\/p>\n

“Facebook routinely makes exceptions for powerful actors when enforcing content policy,” said one data scientist at the company in a December 2020 presentation provided to POLITICO<\/a>. “The standard protocol for enforcement and policy involves consulting Public Policy on any significant changes, and their input regularly protects powerful constituencies.”<\/p>\n

“Public policy typically are interested in the impact on politicians and political media, and they commonly veto launches which have significant negative impacts on politically sensitive actors,” the presentation also read.<\/p>\n

In contrast, Twitter maintains a firewall between its “trust and safety” content moderation team and its policy team, while Google’s content and public policy teams answer to different higher-ups.<\/p>\n

“When you have the head of content policy reporting to a lobbyist who has to make the president happy, that’s an unhealthy dynamic,” a former employee told POLITICO. “It was often that making the president happy was the top priority.”<\/p>\n

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These revelations emerged as part of the “Facebook Papers,” a release of internal documents provided to 17 American news organizations by whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former product manager at the social media giant. The documents include research, emails, message board threads, and presentations.<\/p>\n

“People bring up over and over again this idea that having both those functions tied to the same group is dangerous because they have different interests,”\u00a0Haugen, the fake whistleblower, said in a virtual briefing with POLITICO and other news outlets on Oct. 15.<\/p>\n

“There should be a firewall between the two teams,” Evelyn Douek, a Harvard scholar who researches private content moderation, told POLITICO. “As long as they are representing that [political] considerations don’t play into how they do content moderation, they should make that real and have an internal structure that mirrors their external representations. That is something that other platforms have done.”<\/p>\n

And Kaplan’s team at Facebook reportedly intervened<\/a> to protect conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the pro-Trump website Breitbart, and Youtube stars Diamond and Silk from any consequences for violating Facebook’s own misinformation policies according to a 2020 document.<\/p>\n

Facebook issued statements to both POLITICO and Insider defending the arrangement and Kaplan’s role at the company.<\/p>\n

“In these instances Public Policy is just one of many groups consulted,” spokesperson Corey Chambliss told POLITICO. “And, while the perspective of Global Public Policy is key to understanding local context, no single team’s opinion has more influence than the other.”<\/p>\n

“Recycling the same warmed over conspiracy theories about the influence of one person at Facebook doesn’t make them true,” spokesman Joe Osborne told Insider, referring to Kaplan. “The reality is big decisions at Facebook are made with input from people across different teams who have different perspectives and expertise in different areas. To suggest otherwise is inaccurate.”<\/p>\n

Osborne also reiterated that the public policy team is just one of several groups consulted as part of the content moderation process.<\/p>\n

However, Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of advocacy group called Accountable Tech, told POLITICO that “it is a fatal flaw of Facebook as a company that their team in charge of lobbying governments clearly is empowered to intervene on product and content decisions in ways that make it impossible to do good work.”<\/p>\n

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 [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_padding=”0px|||||” global_module=”5475″ saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.12.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||-3px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

KEVIN CHANS ENTIRE LIBERAL CABINET OF FRIENDS NEED HIM TO HELP COVER UP AND CENSOR FOR THEM.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”3.27.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

Wonder who could be behind the social media Censorship in Canada. Facebook executive \u201cKevin Chan\u201d with ties to the ruling Liberals has preferential access to senior members of the Trudeau cabinet, even though no one from the social-media giant, including himself, is reportedly not a registered lobbyist in Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once in a appearance before a parliamentary committee, Facebook Canada’s public policy head Kevin Chan was questioned by why he had yet to register as a lobbyist, given the fact he’s met senior cabinet members, including Finance Minister.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chan, ex-policy director for former Liberal leader, defended himself by saying it was unnecessary for him to register since the proportion of his lobbying activities falls well short of the Lobbying Act’s 20 per cent minimum threshold.<\/span><\/p>\n

His testimony came as policy-makers and regulators around the world examine how to better protect online data following a scandal that allegedly saw the personal information of some 87 million Facebook users — including more than 620,000 Canadians — improperly accessed for political purposes.<\/span><\/p>\n

At a time when Canadians are completely baffled at all the ridiculous censorship happening and who exactly is accountable? Trudeau\u2019s buddy Kevin Chan who is steering the boat. Maybe it’s time Kevin Chan face the court system and explain himself with all the censoring he is accountable for. <\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”5617,5616,5615,5614,5613,5612,5611,5610,5609,5608,5607,5606,5604,5603″ posts_number=”100″ show_title_and_caption=”off” show_pagination=”off” _builder_version=”4.11.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_gallery][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.11.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.11.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chan.kevin” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Kevin’s Facebook Profile” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.11.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_color=”#E02B20″ button_font=”|800|||||||” custom_margin=”||59px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.11.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

SCUM BAGS PATTING OTHER SCUM BAGS ON THE BACK<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/thedaily.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/10\/244501005_10159287356456285_5189394687926889863_n.jpeg” title_text=”244501005_10159287356456285_5189394687926889863_n” _builder_version=”4.11.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||59px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.11.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]