News and Media

CEP today released the f ifth of a nine-part video series featuring CEP Senior Adviser Dr. Hany Farid, titled "Fake News." Dr. Farid asserts that the blame for the proliferation of fake news online has to be shouldered squarely by tech companies like Google-owned YouTube. Their algorithms, designed to entice as many clicks as possible from the end user, sensationalize and exacerbate the spread of outrageous content.

Since 2017, Facebook has announced to the public, shareholders and the U.S. Congress that it removes “99 percent” of Al Qaeda and ISIS-related content from its platforms. However, a recent Associated Press investigation into Whistleblower claims to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleges that Facebook’s extremist content removal rate was just 38 percent, not 99 percent. This disconnect calls into question once again the company’s credibility and its commitment to removing dangerous content from its platform.

A day ahead of the launch of the Christchurch Call to Action in Paris, a voluntary commitment by governments and tech companies to combat online extremism, Facebook announced new policies concerning the misuse of Facebook Live. Facebook’s attempt to garner positive headlines in the aftermath of a preventable tragedy while forestalling efforts by lawmakers to implement sensible and much-needed regulation is indicative of the company’s cynical and reactive response to misuse on its platforms.

CEP today released the fourth of a nine-part video series featuring CEP Senior Adviser Dr. Hany Farid. In this week’s video, titled “Misuse ,” Dr. Farid states that tech companies have time and again failed to recognize misuses of their platform by online extremists and have failed to respond quickly or install safeguards to prevent said misuse from happening again.

CEP Executive Director David Ibsen issued a statement today supporting the 'Christchurch Call,' but cautioning that a voluntary approach is not enough when it comes to removing terrorist content and hate speech from social media. The statement read in part: “We have seen that allowing the tech industry to self-regulate does not work and it cannot be trusted to voluntarily enforce such important measures to ensure public safety and security. The Christchurch Call must be part of a broader effort to enact legislative and regulatory measures.”

According to a whistleblower’s complaint to the S ecurities and Exchange Commission, Facebook has been misleading the public and its shareholders about the efficacy of its content moderation efforts. CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in April t hat Facebook was “[taking] down 99 percent of the Al Qaeda and ISIS-related content in our system before someone, a human even flags it to us.” However, the whistleblower alleges Facebook’s extremist content removal rate was just 38 percent, not 99 percent.

CEP CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace today issued a statement in response to an op-ed by Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes published in the New York Times that called for the breakup of Facebook. The statement read: “We agree.”

CEP today released the third in a nine-part video series featuring CEP Senior Advisor Dr. Hany Farid , titled "eGLYPH." In the video, Dr. Farid explains the origin of the digital hashing technology he developed with CEP that analyzes images, audio and video, and can swiftly and accurately remove content pre-determined to be dangerous or illegal.