Facebook and other social media giants have started working with the US government to address misinformation on the internet. Meta-owned Facebook is collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on a special portal meant for government officials to request suppression of potentially misleading user content.
The Intercept shared a report earlier this week regarding leaked documents that highlight DHS’s plans to police misinformation on social media and other platforms on the internet. These documents reveal that the organization targets information it deems inaccurate about the origins of COVID-19 and the efficacy of its vaccines.
It also aims to address misinformation regarding racial justice, US withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the nature of US support to Ukraine that was posted on social media. However, DHS’s definition of misinformation, which is explained as “false information that is deliberately spread with the intent to deceive or mislead”, remains unclear. This would give govt officials a broad playground for determining which information is false or dangerous.
Representatives for DHS and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are yet to respond to a request to comment and Facebook or Meta have not reached back either.
Special Portal for Govt Officials
Facebook’s portal is called the Content Request System and it is used by DHS officials as well as law enforcement officers to directly submit reports about content that was deemed subversive or suspicious. It remains unclear when the portal was created or how it decides whether a post should be removed from the platform.
The report from Intercept highlights that posts related to COVID-19, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the war in Ukraine were actively targeted.
Facebook’s cooperation with government agencies has always faced criticism with concerns about sharing personal user data without consent. Hence, it remains to be seen how well Facebook’s partnership with DHS is taken by the public.
