In July, the Center for Child & Family Health (CCFH) discontinued active use of its Facebook page in support of the #StopHateforProfit campaign, calling for Facebook to demonstrate a more substantial commitment to combatting hate speech, racism, and misinformation on its platform.
Facebook remains largely resistant to the reforms proposed by the campaign and other calls for the company to take greater responsibility for toxic aspects of its product. As a result, CCFH will continue its moratorium on active use of its Facebook page until such time as Facebook takes meaningful steps toward ethical accountability.
Hate speech, racism, and misinformation are common across all forms of social media. Our decision is based not on a determination that there is more toxicity on Facebook than on other platforms but on our observation that the company, compared to its peers, is less willing to accept responsibility for it.
From our work with traumatized children, we know that connections between people, even if profitable, are not good in and of themselves. To be beneficial, connections should be mutual, equitable, trustworthy, and – above all – safe.
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