Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Vodacom, Maziv deal now looks likely after CompCom U-turn

      8 July 2025

      Icasa publishes new draft regulations for digital TV

      8 July 2025

      Fast-growing Beira port to get private mobile network

      8 July 2025

      MultiChoice hit with multimillion-rand fine for privacy ‘breaches’

      8 July 2025

      Still in play: Ramaphosa banks on talks to ease US tariff blow

      8 July 2025
    • World

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025

      Grammarly acquires e-mail start-up Superhuman

      1 July 2025

      Apple considers ditching its own AI in Siri overhaul

      1 July 2025

      Jony Ive’s first AI gadget could be … a pen

      30 June 2025

      Bumper orders for Xiaomi’s YU7 SUV heighten threat to Tesla

      27 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025

      TCS+ | First Distribution on the latest and greatest cloud technologies

      27 June 2025

      TCS+ | First Distribution on data governance in hybrid cloud environments

      27 June 2025
    • Opinion

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Sections » Facebook boycott organisers see ‘no commitment to action’ from Zuckerberg

    Facebook boycott organisers see ‘no commitment to action’ from Zuckerberg

    By Agency Staff8 July 2020
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Mark Zuckerberg

    Organisers of a growing Facebook advertising boycott said they saw “no commitment to action” after meeting with CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday.

    More than 900 advertisers have signed on to the “Stop Hate for Profit” campaign, organised by civil rights groups to pressure the world’s largest social media network to take concrete steps to block hate speech and misinformation, in the wake of the death of George Floyd in police custody.

    The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Free Press, Color of Change and the NAACP met for over an hour via video conference with Facebook executives including Zuckerberg and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg to discuss the groups’ demands.

    We know we will be judged by our actions not by our words and are grateful to these groups and many others for their continued engagement

    “They (Facebook) showed up to the meeting expecting an A for attendance,” said Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, during a press call following the meeting.

    In a statement, Facebook responded that “we know we will be judged by our actions not by our words and are grateful to these groups and many others for their continued engagement”.

    The campaign, which calls for advertisers to pause their Facebook ads for July, has outlined 10 changes it wants, including allowing victims of severe harassment to speak with a Facebook employee and giving refunds to brands whose ads show up next to offensive content that is later removed.

    Civil rights position

    Color of Change said in a statement the only recommendation Zuckerberg and Sandberg attempted to address was establishing a civil rights position within the company, but they would not commit to making it a senior executive job or defining the role.

    Facebook “refused to offer” live user support with a Facebook representative for harassment victims, and provided no details on an independent hate speech audit it has discussed with advertisers, Color of Change said.

    Facebook declined to confirm who else attended the meeting, but the boycott groups cited chief product officer Chris Cox, who returned to Facebook last month after splitting with Zuckerberg in early 2019, and global affairs chief Nick Clegg.

    Long-time Facebook executive Ime Archibong, who runs a team designing experimental new products and is one of the highest-ranking Black staffers, was also present, they said.

    Zuckerberg said last month some employees working under Archibong would shift focus toward building products “to advance racial justice”, although the initiative is being run by Facebook app chief Fidji Simo.

    Policy staffers Neil Potts, Lindsay Elin and Monique Dorsainvil attended as well, the groups said.

    “We had 10 demands, and literally we went through the 10 and we didn’t get commitments, timeframes or clear outcomes,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the ADL.

    Nonprofits outside the US have also offered support for the campaign, Free Press Co-CEO Jessica Gonzalez said in an interview.  — Reported by Katie Paul and Sheila Dang, (c) 2020 Reuters



    Facebook Mark Zuckerberg Sheryl Sandberg top
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleOver 500 jobs on the line at Media24
    Next Article Hong Kong residents turn to Signal amid China crackdown

    Related Posts

    Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

    17 June 2025

    Zuckerberg bets big on artificial general intelligence

    10 June 2025

    Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

    4 June 2025
    Company News

    Powering South Africa’s industrial intelligence with Huawei Cloud’s AI-native innovations

    8 July 2025

    Rain launches a new way to connect. It’s a loop

    8 July 2025

    Cloud costs too high? You’re looking at the wrong problem

    8 July 2025
    Opinion

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.