In a First, Social Media Giant Facebook Agrees to French Regulators Seeking to Combat Hate Speech

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Facebook is only the first of the feared tech giants (#GAFA – Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon) who appear to be buckling into this pressure. Can you imagine the reaction if the Trump administration were seeking to “embed” journalists into the company? Tech companies are increasingly being hit by both sides: Conservative populists who decry their alleged liberal bias, and progressives on the left who decry their platform dominance.

France to ’embed’ regulators at Facebook to combat hate speech, from Reuters:

PARIS (Reuters) – Facebook (FB.O) will allow French regulators to “embed” inside the company to examine how it combats online hate speech, the first time the wary tech giant has opened its doors in such a way, President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday.

From January, Macron’s administration will send a small team of senior civil servants to the company for six months to verify Facebook’s goodwill and determine whether its checks on racist, sexist or hate-fuelled speech could be improved.

“It’s a first,” Macron told the annual Internet Governance Forum in Paris. “I’m delighted by this very innovative experimental approach,” he said. “It’s an experiment, but a very important first step in my view.”

The trial project is an example of what Macron has called “smart regulation”, something he wants to extend to other tech leaders such as Google, Apple and Amazon.

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Source: France to ’embed’ regulators at Facebook to combat hate speech | Reuters

(White House photo from the Obama Administration by Lawrence Jackson.)