Investors push for social media controls ahead of the U.S. establishment

BOSTON (Reuters) – Pension fund managers and religious investors on Friday called on major social media companies to reduce their content control efforts to reduce the threat of violence ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden’s election next. weeks.

The effort is the latest emphasis on Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc over real astronomy after last week’s U.S. Capitol storm by supporters of President Donald Trump.

In letters submitted Thursday, investors – including New York State Administrator Thomas DiNapoli, the International Union of Service Workers and the Universalist Association – called for steps to be taken. including removing the coding they said is likely to promote conspiracy theories and radicalizing content, and for the companies to continue lighting content with hashtags like #Stopthesteal.

In the long term, boards and executives need to rethink their “business model and rely on algorithmic decisions, which have been linked to online grain dispersal and disinfection. , ”Said the letters.

Representatives of the alphabet did not answer questions. A Facebook spokesman said it has banned more than 250 white supremacist groups and imposed rules such as those banning militias from setting up on their platform. A Twitter representative commented on actions he took such as blocking accounts that shared QAnon content in the main.

Violent astronomy on social media platforms has soared in recent weeks as groups openly planned for the gathering in Washington, according to researchers and public reports, prompting criticism from the companies for not taking action beforehand.

Twitter and Facebook blocked Trump’s accounts last week as the tech giants broke down to downplay Trump’s baseless claims for fraud in the U.S. presidential election.

The active investors collectively manage around $ 390 billion in assets but have relatively little ownership in the social media companies. Key shareholders in the area have so far declined to comment on their responses including BlackRock Inc Vanguard Group Inc and Morgan Stanley.

The Trump ban has sparked concern among other investors that consumers and advertisers would leave for various platforms. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said the decision was right but set a dangerous precedent. Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg has said the company has no plans to lift the ban.