Investors force social media more controls ahead of U.S. inauguration

Investors push for social media more controls ahead of U.S. inauguration

Pension fund managers and religious investors on Friday required top social media companies to tighten up their moderation to reduce the threat of violence ahead of the inauguration of US President-elect Joe Biden this week. This limits the situations when people with just a good speed test result can do many negative things online. 

This effort was given when Facebook, Twitter, and Alphabet have extreme rhetoric after the storming of the US Capitol last week.

In letters sent on Thursday, the investors - including New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, the Service Employees International Union, and the Unitarian Universalist Association, it is essential to disable the coding they said tends to elevate conspiracy theories and radicalizing content, and for the companies to continue to flag content with hashtags like #Stopthesteal.

A Facebook representative said that Facebook has banned over 250 white supremacist groups and barring militias from organizing on its platform. Twitter also suspended accounts that mainly shared QAnon content.

Both Facebook and Twitter banned Trump’s account as the tech giants scrambled to crack down on Trump’s baseless claims of fraud in the US presidential election.

• Read more:  Twitter and Facebook Lock Trump's Account following Capitol Hill Riot

The bans on Trump have raised concern among other investors that users and advertisers would skip choosing different platforms. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said the decision was correct but create a dangerous precedent. Also, Facebook operations chief Sheryl Sandberg has said the company has no plans to lift its ban.