Facebook is one of the biggest human communities ever. Actually, allow me to correct myself — it is the biggest human community ever. As such, it is but natural that decisions regarding the type of content that is allowed on the platform — and the type that should be censored — should be taken with common acquiescence.
Towards the same, the social networking platform has published a list of seven questions that it wants you to answers. Also published, is an e-mail address (hardquestions@fb.com) inviting you to send your feedback and suggestions regarding further questions.
The company will then start coming out with blog posts regarding the decision it has come to for each of these questions. The same post will also discuss the company’s logic as to how it reached that particular conclusion.
Speaking on the topic, Facebook’s VP of public policy Elliot Schrage said:
Even when you’re skeptical of our choices, we hope these posts give a better sense of how we approach them — and how seriously we take them. And we believe that by becoming more open and accountable, we should be able to make fewer mistakes, and correct them faster.
Here is a list of questions:
- How should platforms approach keeping terrorists from spreading propaganda online?
- After a person dies, what should happen to their online identity?
- How aggressively should social media companies monitor and remove controversial posts and images from their platforms? Who gets to decide what’s controversial, especially in a global community with a multitude of cultural norms?
- Who gets to define what’s false news — and what’s simply controversial political speech?
- Is social media good for democracy?
- How can we use data for everyone’s benefit, without undermining people’s trust?
- How should young internet users be introduced to new ways to express themselves in a safe environment?
So basically, the answers to these questions could well redefine how Facebook — and by extension, social media, is perceived and used by the masses. All of these questions relate to issues Facebook has faced in recent times and as such, are highly relevant. And it seems that Facebook has been unable to come up with an answer that would satisfy everyone, on its own. Which is why the company has turned to the public.
It is very likely that the answers received will actually form the basis of how the social networking platform functions in the future. So if you have suggestions, make sure you spell them out. After all, the company is powered by the end user, so it only makes sense that it would take the user’s wishes into account while implementing policies of this import.
