PROBLEM: For years we have worked to reduce racist hate on Facebook and the targeting of Black activists by pressuring the company to conduct a civil rights audit and adopt policies to prevent app developers from creating social media surveillance tools for law enforcement agencies. Yet, a 2018 report from The New York Times revealed that Facebook hired a conservative public relations firm to plant stories discrediting organizations critical of the social media giant—including our close ally, Color of Change. In fact, they hired this right-wing PR firm to plant hit pieces and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories in response to our shared criticisms of their handling of hate speech, surveillance and censorship.

SOLUTION: In 2019 we helped organize a coalition which demanded drastic change at Facebook. This included a restructuring of the Facebook board and a change in leadership, as well as the firing of VP Joel Kaplan, who oversaw the hiring of the right-wing PR firm in 2016. Our letter to the Facebook board also demanded that they make public all findings and recommendations of the civil rights audit without revisions or redactions by January 31, 2019. In March 2019 Facebook announced it would ban white nationalist and white separatist content on its platforms.

GET INVOLVED: Add your organization’s name to the list of those that have signed on in support of the recommended policies for corporations like Facebook to adopt and implement to reduce hateful activities on their platforms.

Problem:
Invasive technology, including facial recognition and other surveillance tools, is making its way from Silicon Valley into the hands of the police. Law enforcement agencies like the FBI, ICE, and several local police departments are already using these tools to monitor communities that have been historically overpoliced. Which means these agencies increasingly have the power to track who you are, where you are, and where you go. Lining up to profit from all this are some of the nation’s largest tech companies.

Solution:
Last year, the ACLU of Northern CA exposed Amazon for selling their facial recognition tool to law enforcement. We already know that Microsoft markets and sells its own tool called Face API, even as it calls on the federal government to regulate facial recognition technology. Meanwhile, Google has announced it would not commercialize its facial recognition product today—but has not ruled out doing so in the future. Our demand is simple: Tech companies should not be in the business of selling surveillance tools to the government. We’re calling on the leaders of all these companies to cancel their contracts asap.

Get Involved:
Join us in telling CEOs from Google, Microsoft and Amazon: Don’t sell facial recognition to governments. This is not a neutral technology. Research has shown that facial recognition tools can be disproportionately inaccurate with people of color—especially Black women. And in the hands of police, this powerful surveillance technology will be used to further target and repress Black and brown communities who already face racist policing practices. Sign the petition today!