January 22, 2021

Carnegie UK Trust joins global statement calling for urgent action amid concerns for democracy and human rights.

by Carnegie UK Trust

The Carnegie UK Trust has joined 31 organisations from across the globe calling on Facebook, Twitter and Google to do more to prevent harm from their platforms to human rights and democracy worldwide.

The measures social media platforms took in light of the attacks on the US Capitol show they understand the urgent need to act to protect democracy, but this action cannot be limited to the US alone.

The statement, which has also been backed by organisations including Global Witness, Avaaz, The Jo Cox Foundation and the Alliances for Africa, outlines a set of measures companies must take immediately, until democratic governments pass appropriate regulation. The steps include engagement with experts and civil society at the local level, scaling up content moderation teams at the local level, and working with third-party fact checkers with local contextual knowledge.
The full statement can be viewed here: https://96percent.medium.com/statement-from-global-civil-society-on-the-impact-of-facebook-google-and-twitter-concern-for-24fca9c17835