Facebook and Instagram to examine algorithm in racial bias investigation
Facebook has said it is establishing two new groups to assess whether its policies and algorithms are racially biased, following a major advertising boycott against the social media giant.
Facebook will set up an Inclusive Product Council, with a similar Equity Team at its sister app Instagram, to explore whether there are “potential biases” across its platforms.
Instagram’s vice president of product Vishal Shah said in a statement provided to media: “The racial justice movement is a moment of real significance for our company. Any bias in our systems and policies run counter to providing a platform for everyone to express themselves.
“While we’re always working to create a more equitable experience, we are setting up additional efforts to continue this progress.”
Facebook has been criticised for failing to stamp out hate speech across its family of platforms, culminating in a boycott of the network by thousands of advertisers this month.
Some of the major companies involved in the boycott included Coca-Cola, Unilever and Starbucks.
Similarly Instagram has been previously called out for inadvertently suppressing the voices of Black people and communities of colour.
Last month Instagram chief Adam Mosseri said the app had struggled to account for the “experiences and challenges that underrepresented groups, such as our Black community, face when they use Instagram”.
“We’ve done a lot of work to better understand the impact our platform has on different groups, and that’s helped us get to where we are today. But I think there’s more to do across some key areas, which fit into our broader company commitments,” he said.
Facebook is said to have previously barred its employees from studying the racial effects of its platform without approval from senior executives last year, the Wall Street Journal reported.
An 89-page of Facebook published last month found the tech firm’s response to racial equality was “too reactive and piecemeal”.
A Facebook spokesperson said at the time: “What has become increasingly clear is that we have a long way to go. As hard as it has been to have our shortcomings exposed by experts, it has undoubtedly been a really important process for our company.”