Meta (Facebook)
Risk Level:
Summary:
Meta (Facebook) has a track record of censoring conservative voices, most famously then-President Trump, and many accounts of Christians. However, Meta has done little to respond to reports of child sexual abuse materials on its platforms. In 2021, there were 29 million reports of child sexual abuse material, and 27 million (92%) were found on Meta apps. Meta endorses the Equality Act and opposes efforts to require voter ID and Florida's efforts to ban classroom discussions of gender and sexuality. Meta has also weaponized its PAC by lobbying on behalf of the Equality Act. The company does, however, protect employees from viewpoint discrimination. For these reasons, Meta (Facebook) receives a "High Risk" rating.
Has denied service to customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.
Facebook regularly faces criticism for censoring conservative voices, most prominently its suspension of then-President Trump (1). It also banned Franklin Graham for a post in 2016 supporting a North Carolina law requiring individuals to use public bathrooms corresponding to biological sex (2). Facebook did reverse one ban on a book publisher that it said had happened “in error,” though the company has not continued this trend of restoring unfairly suspended accounts (3). Facebook has censored Christians and Christian-led groups for sharing and discussing abortion or seeking charitable support to end forced marriages of Christian women in Islamic countries (4)(5)(6). Instagram, a subsidiary of Meta, suspended the conservative account “Libs of TikTok” for “violating community guidelines,” although the account simply reposted videos from left-leaning accounts on the platform (7). Facebook openly collaborates with the Anti-Defamation League and NAACP to police “hate speech” (8). Facebook received a score of 100 on the Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Among other requirements, this means the company has pledged to vet vendors based on LGBTQ policies (9). Facebook also labeled a post from Ben Carson as misleading when he decried the recently signed legislation in Colorado legalizing abortion up until birth (10). The company claimed that this opinion was misleading because “abortions that occur later in a pregnancy are rare.”
Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.
Most of Facebook’s charitable giving comes through its facilitating of fundraisers on Facebook. These fundraisers benefit all types of nonprofits, including many churches and groups like Focus on the Family, despite pressure from the political left to exclude some socially conservative groups (1)(2).
Employment policies fail to protect against discrimination based on political affiliation/views and/or religion.
Meta protects its employees from religious and viewpoint discrimination (1).
Uses corporate reputation to support ideological causes and/or organizations hostile to freedom of expression.
Meta advocates for the Equality Act and transgender participation in women’s and girls’ sports (1)(2). It also opposed Georgia’s voting integrity law (3). Meta opposed the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, which prohibits teaching gender identity and sexual orientation in schools to kids in K-3rd grade (4). Facebook dedicated resources to LGBTQ Pride Month and “amplifying LGBTQ+ communities” even in countries where homosexual behavior is banned (5)(6). Moreover, Facebook partners with multiple LGBTQ advocacy groups and lobbyists, like the HRC (7). Facebook declared Kyle Rittenhouse a mass murderer before the trial even began and did not allow searches for his name or related content (8).
Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.
Meta (Facebook) has not used its corporate funds to support ideological groups hostile to freedom of expression.
Uses corporate political contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.
Meta has lobbied on behalf of the Equality Act (1).
All links were last accessed and all information was updated on:
March 23, 2023
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