Statements
2020

Statement on Chan and Zuckerberg Election Investment

For Immediate Release
September 1, 2020
Contact: press@accountabletech.org

 

Accountable Tech Executive Director Nicole Gill released the following statement Tuesday in response to the announcement that Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg are investing $300 million in election infrastructure:

“Needless to say, this is a significant financial commitment to help state and local officials administer safe and secure elections amid unprecedented challenges, and we applaud that investment. But let’s be clear: There’s not enough money in the world to paper over the damage Facebook has done to democracy.

We’ve seen this ploy time and time again. Facebook donates to Black-owned businesses instead of addressing rampant racism on the platform. They give grants to support local journalism while destroying the industry. They tout investments in their fact-checking program – but give politicians free rein to spew dangerous lies – and in their Oversight Board, which remains inoperative as the platform is weaponized by militias, extremists, and authoritarians.

Mark Zuckerberg needs to stop treating every Facebook crisis as a PR problem to throw money at, and start treating the systemic ailments that fuel them.”

###

From the Newsroom

Statements
Oct 03, 2024
Accountable Tech on Injunction Against California Anti-Deepfakes Law

Accountable Tech Co-Founder and Executive Director Nicole Gill issued the following statement on U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez’s ruling to pause enforcement of AB 2389, a California law recently signed by Governor Gavin Newsom to prevent the distribution of deepfakes made about political candidates within a certain proximity to an election:

Statements
Oct 01, 2024
Accountable Tech on Enactment of Maryland Kids Code

Accountable Tech Executive Director and Co-Founder Nicole Gill issued the following statement on the Maryland Kids Code coming into effect:

Join the fight to rein in Big Tech.

Big Tech companies are some of the most powerful and profitable companies in history, presenting new threats to the safety of communities and the health of democracy. We’re taking them on through legislation, regulation and direct advocacy.