"... a sharp reversal that could have global ramifications for how elected officials use the social network. The change, which Facebook is set to announce as soon as Friday, comes after the Oversight Board — an independent group funded by Facebook to review its thorniest content rulings — affirmed its decision to suspend former President Donald Trump but critiqued the special treatment it gives politicians, stating that the 'same rules should apply to all users.'... The changes are notable for Facebook since it historically has taken a hands-off approach to what elected officials say on its service.... For the past few years, Facebook has maintained a list of political accounts that aren’t subject to the same fact-checking or content moderation processes that apply to other users...."
They had an exception and they made an exception to the exception. The new approach is to eliminate that exception to which they succumbed to the temptation to make an exception. Same rules for everybody is the soundest approach. Everyone instinctively understands it. We can deal with exceptions too, though it takes some sophistication and trust, but when you proceed to make an exception to your exception, we're properly suspicious.
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2 comments:
Sean writes:
The cynic in me says Facebook will now have the ability to squelch conservative voices who hold political office more broadly and without having to make any special "exceptions" to the rules. Special exceptions to the rules require more bothersome explanation and spin control than just applying the rules, which explicitly and naturally favor progressive speech.
No special protections for politicians doesn't mean they'll start banning Maxine Waters and Ilhan Omar. It just means that statements by Republican elected officials can now get them banned from Facebook in the same opaque and dismissive fashion as Republican voters.
Well, of course, whatever structure of rules they follow, we have to expect that bias will flow through. But having one set of rules, applicable to everyone, may make it easier to see what they are doing. They had been giving govt officials special leeway.
Chris writes:
"Deplatforming the former POTUS is to my mind the most troubling thing to happen this year. It has spurred me to decouple from social media as much as possible. A useless gesture, probably, but it does open up time to read more books."
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