Facebook Makes Move To Censor…”Preventing Content From Appearing in Feeds”
Three current and former unnamed Facebook employees have claimed that the social media giant has developed a software tool to essentially censor what users from certain geographical areas see on their feeds.
This is disturbing, because a tool that can be used in one place can be used in another, and we all know how American liberals like to control unwelcome information.
The goal for Facebook was “preventing content from appearing in feeds in China,” as reported by The New York Times. By developing this tool, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg presumably hoped he could slip his social network into the nation, though resistance from Chinese leadership still reportedly “remain(ed) at top levels.”
According to Reuters, Facebook was banned in China six years ago “following the Urumqi riots in July 2009, in an effort to stem the flow of information about ethnic unrest which left 140 people dead.”
Then, in 2013, China lifted the ban but only for the relatively small Shanghai Free-Trade Zone, as reported at the time by the South China Morning Post.
To tap into most of the nation’s 1.4 billion residents, Facebook had to comply with China’s censorship laws. Speaking with Fortune, however, a company spokesperson refused to make any admissions regarding Zuckerberg’s intentions.
“We have long said that we are interested in China and are spending time understanding and learning more about the country,” the spokesperson said. “However, we have not made any decision on our approach to China.”
The Times noted that Facebook’s only other option (besides allowing censorship) would be to “cooperate with a local company or investor” by “allowing it to own a majority stake in Facebook’s China operation,” thus “tak(ing) the burden of censorship and surveillance off the Silicon Valley company.”
Such an approach could conceivably be a lot less taxing on the company, as the unveiling of its alleged censorship tool in China could spur other nations to demand that content be blocked in their countries as well.
Zuckerberg had a tough decision to make: Give up on China, sell a stake to a Chinese entity or unveil a tool that could lead to widespread censorship. Hopefully he will make the right call.
And let’s hope China isn’t a laboratory for testing things intended for the U.S.