ProPublica: “Sheryl Sandberg and Top Facebook Execs silenced an Enemy of Turkey to prevent a Hit to the Company’s Business”

The conversations, among other internal emails obtained by ProPublica, provide an unusually direct look into how tech giants like Facebook handle censorship requests made by governments that routinely limit what can be said publicly. When the Turkish government attacked the Kurds in the Afrin District of northern Syria, Turkey also arrested hundreds of its own residents for criticizing the operation.

Publicly, Facebook has underscored that it cherishes free speech: We believe freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, and we work hard to protect and defend these values around the world, the company wrote in a blog post last month about a new Turkish law requiring that social media firms have a legal presence in the country. More than half of the people in Turkey rely on Facebook to stay in touch with their friends and family, to express their opinions and grow their businesses.

But behind the scenes in 2018, amid Turkey’s military campaign, Facebook ultimately sided with the government’s demands. Deliberations, the emails show, were centered on keeping the platform operational, not on human rights.

Jack Gillum & Justin Elliott

Timely article, considering the recent fight between Facebook and Australian legislators over the local news business. Another piece of evidence, in a long string of incidents, highlighting how the leadership makes decisions and how willing they are to discard principles when the business is at stake. To Facebook, free speech is nothing more than a catchy phrase inserted into PR statements to appease the American public. The company can block entire countries or political movements with the flip of a switch, but by all means, let’s freak out over the death of the open web whenever a country plans to introduce a new tax on Facebook!

Email from Joel Kaplan to Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg that says, FYI that we have received an order from the Turkish government to take down the page of the Kurdish organization YPG. The team’s recommendation, which Elliot and I agree with, is to hold off taking action on the YPG page until we receive further notice from the Turkish government that they will block us, but to move immediately to geo-block the page in Turkey if we do receive a blocking threat. Please let us know if you have any concerns with this approach.

Not that other tech giants, such as Apple, have a better track record when it comes to principles, especially in regards to China.