Five takeaways from Facebook's civil rights audit

A two-year audit of Facebook’s civil rights record found that the company’s elevation of free expression — especially by politicians — above other values has hurt its progress on other matters like discrimination, elections interference and protecting vulnerable users.

Facebook hired former American Civil Liberties Union executive Laura Murphy, in May 2018 to assess its performance on vital social issues. On Wednesday, the final 100-page report said while the company has made progress on issues such as voter suppression and cracking down on hate groups, "those gains could be obscured by the vexing and heartbreaking decisions Facebook has made that represent significant setbacks for civil rights.”

Here are five takeaways from the audit:

— ELECTION INTERFERENCE

Facebook has expanded its voter suppression policy since the audit began. This includes banning posts about violence relating to voting, voter registration or the outcome of elections, as well as threats that voting will lead to law enforcement action (such as immigration agents arresting people, for instance). But the company needs a “stronger interpretation” of its policies against voter suppression, the audit said. This includes prohibiting posts such as President Donald Trump's in May that call into question the integrity of voting by mail.

Facebook's decision to leave up these posts — along with another one many saw as threatening violence against protesters in Minneapolis — “have caused considerable alarm for the auditors and the civil rights community,” the report said.

“These decisions exposed a major hole in Facebook’s understanding and application of civil rights,” the audit said, calling the decisions “devastating.”

— ORGANIZED HATE

Facebook reported in May that in...