After years of criticism from conservatives and people of color, Facebook will bring in two outside advisors to address allegations of systemic bias in how it decides what content to show its users. One probe will conduct a legal audit of its impact on underrepresented communities and communities of color; another will advise the company on potential bias against right-wing views. Axios writes that Facebook—which has seen its reputation suffer several public hits of late—hopes the independent audits and advising partnerships will prove the company is taking these issues seriously.
Laura Murphy, a national civil liberties and civil rights leader who serves as the Director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office, will guide the civil rights audit. She will take feedback from civil rights groups, like The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and once finished, will advise Facebook on next steps.
Former Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, and his team at Covington and Burling, a Washington law firm, will lead the conservative bias advising partnership. Conservatives have alleged Facebook bias for years, and it came to a head in 2016 after reports that Facebook’s content reviewers were suppressing conservative content via its “Trending Topics” feature. This led to an inquiry by the Senate Commerce committee. Kyl will examine these concerns and will enlist feedback directly from conservative groups.
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