Facebook, Twitter Face Congress as 12 States Urge Tech Giants to Stop Spread of COVID-19 Misinformation
Twelve Attorneys General have called upon two of the nation's biggest tech giants, Facebook and Twitter, in a letter to address concerns over anti-vaxxer users of their platforms who are spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.
In the letter drafted by Connecticut Attorney General, William Tong, Twitter's Jack Dorsey and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg are asked to be more aggressive in stopping the spread of miscommunication. The letter reads in part, “Given ‘anti-vaxxers’ reliance on your platforms, you are uniquely positioned to prevent the spread of misinformation about coronavirus vaccines that poses a direct threat to the health and safety of millions of Americans.”
The letter goes on to urge Dorsey and Zuckerberg to adhere to their community guidelines. Tong explains, “The updated community guidelines you have established to prevent the spread of vaccine misinformation appear to be a step in the right direction. However, it is apparent that Facebook has not taken sufficient action to identify violations and enforce these guidelines by removing and labeling misinformation and banning repeat offenders." The Attorney General argues that because misinformation continues to spread, these platforms are violating their own guidelines.
The call to action comes after the Center for Countering Digital Hate published a report that looked into online misinformation. The report found that a small number of accounts on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter that promote anti-vaccination rhetoric have reached over 59 million followers. Many of these accounts have targeted black Americans, one of the many communities already hit hardest during the coronavirus pandemic. The report also shows that at least 65% of the anti-vaccine content online is stemming from as few as 12 organizations that are perpetuating this narrative.
In addition to allowing the spread of misinformation to continue, Facebook is being accused of not being consistent in its application of misinformation labels on different groups and pages that are centered around the Coronavirus and vaccines. Sometimes when those misinformation labels are used, they are misplaced and flag pages and content that promote vaccination.
Twitter responded in a statement explaining, "Making certain that reliable, authoritative health information is easily accessible on Twitter has been a priority long before we were in the midst of a global pandemic. Since the beginning of COVID-19, we’ve expanded and increased our investment in those efforts."
Facebook has also defended its efforts, explaining that millions of pieces of content related to the misinformation of the pandemic and vaccines have either been removed or flagged.
Tech Giants Testify Before Congress on Misinformation Spread
The letter was sent to the tech giant executives one day before the Facebook, Twitter, and Google CEOs were set to testify about the spread of misinformation in a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing. The hearing which took place on Thursday took a closer look at the role these tech giants have in the spread of misinformation online.
Representative of Minnesota Angie Craig echoed the sentiment in Tong's letter, highlighting in the committee hearing, “This panel has done something truly rare in Washington these days -- it’s united Democrats and Republicans. Your industry cannot be trusted to regulate itself.”
Other Representatives pushed hard against the tech giants with Representative Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania stating, "You can take this content down. You choose not to. But time after time you are picking engagement and profit over the health and safety of your users." Doyle adds, "It seems like you just shrug off billion-dollar fines. Your companies need to be held accountable. We will legislate to stop this. The stakes are simply too high."
During the hearing, Twitter described its efforts to continue innovating to curb misinformation spread and introduced its latest pilot program, Birdwatch. Facebook also addressed the concerns and encouraged lawmakers to reexamine Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934.
The letter drafted by Tong to curb the spread of the misinformation had the support of the Attorneys General of Delaware, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
