Dems to Facebook: Get serious about misinformation, hate

Representatives Pramila Jayapal and David Cicilline accused Facebook of failing to enforce its own rules when it comes to false claims about the election, and not doing enough to stop right-wing militias and white supremacist groups from using the platform to organize potentially violent events.

With the election less than 50 days away, the lack of concerted action by Facebook to address this threat to our democracy is a grave concern, the two lawmakers wrote.

Facebook did not immediately respond to the letter, which reflects long-standing tensions between the company and lawmakers from both parties.

Specifically, the lawmakers asked Facebook to remove any post, group or page that promotes racial violence, voter suppression or election-related misinformation.

They also urged Facebook to hire more experts on racial hate groups and to improve enforcement of an existing ban on posts encouraging people to take weapons to polls or election offices. Finally, Jayapal and Cicilline call on Facebook to enforce its rules equally on President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly posted baseless claims about voting and election integrity.

Facebook has announced several changes intended to curb voting misinformation, and has also removed hundreds of accounts tied to hate groups or individuals who encouraged followers to show up armed at protests against racist policing.

Both grilled Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg over his company's policies during a hearing this summer by the House antitrust subcommittee, which Cicilline leads.

Original article