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Meta
Sep 17, 2024
Accountable Tech Statement on Meta’s Announcement of Instagram Teen Accounts

Accountable Tech Co-Founder and Executive Director Nicole Gill issued the following statement on Instagram’s policy announcements today for teens and parents:

Giliann Karon Giliann Karon
Meta
Popular Information
Aug 15, 2024
Facebook suppresses political content

A study by Accountable Tech released earlier this week found that "progressive Instagram accounts saw their reach decline by 65%" since the policy change. The study looked at accounts for Hillary Clinton, GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, and others. (The group also sought the participation of conservative accounts, but none agreed.) Accountable Tech said that its study shows that Meta has "systematically remove[d] trustworthy 'political' content from their recommendation surfaces."

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Tech Policy Press
Aug 13, 2024
Report Finds Meta’s Approach to Political Content Reduces Reach for Activist Accounts

Accountable Tech analyzed data from five prominent Instagram accounts, each with over 10,000 followers. The accounts included former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton; Feminist, a women-led non-profit media company; Human Rights Campaign; non-profit LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD; and Field Team 6, a Democratic volunteer group focused on voter registration in key battleground states

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Washington Post
Apr 10, 2024
Content creators ask Meta to reverse politics limits on Instagram, Threads

The letter was organized by Accountable Tech, a nonprofit that says its mission is “to curb the societal harms driven by Big Tech’s toxic business practices,” and GLAAD, an LGBTQ rights organization. LGBTQ creators have been particularly concerned by the limitations because they were imposed as some states were placing restrictions on medical treatments for transgender youths.

Giliann Karon Giliann Karon
Meta
AXIOS
Jan 31, 2024
Tech execs prepare to defend child-safety records

Accountable Tech and Design it for Us will hold a rally outside the Capitol following the hearing. Design it for Us is more focused on the harms it says are posed by Meta, Snap and TikTok. But it added in a statement, "That certainly doesn't excuse Discord and X."

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Nov 02, 2023
Statement on Latest Meta Whistleblower Report

As long as Big Tech chooses to operate under their toxic business model, we should expect more of these disturbing reports to come to light.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Tech Policy Press
Oct 25, 2023
State Attorneys General Sue Meta Over Harms to Children and Teens

Various civil society groups issued statements in support of the bipartisan lawsuit against Meta. Accountable Tech executive director Nicole Gill applauded the state attorneys general’s effort to “curb Big Tech’s unchecked power over our daily lives” as Meta operates “without any regard for their role in the youth mental health crisis, focusing solely on maximizing their profits by creating addictive design features.”

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Oct 24, 2023
Statement on Lawsuit by States Against Meta’s Role in Youth Mental Health Crisis

We applaud today’s bipartisan lawsuit by state attorneys general to curb Big Tech’s unchecked power over our daily lives and protect young people from the online harms they face every day.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
CBC Canada
Aug 18, 2023
Nicole Gill on Meta’s News Blockade in Canada

This is a company that spent more than a decade integrating itself into the news production and dissemination system. Like it or not, they're a part of how news is shared across the globe.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Gizmodo
Aug 10, 2023
Maybe Facebook’s Ruthless Ascent Didn’t Make the World More Depressed, Study Says

Accountable Tech Co-Founder Jesse Lehrich who’s previously led campings calling on Meta to do more to remove harmful content from its platforms, echoed those concerns, calling the OII research as almost comically overbroad.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Politico
Jul 27, 2023
New studies: Facebook doesn’t make people more partisan

Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, an advocacy group focused on information controls for social media, said it was “a little bit absurd” to draw conclusions from studies that altered a single facet of a user’s social media experience over a three-month period.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Politico
Jul 27, 2023
Score one for ‘the algorithm’

Social media critics — many of whom have spent years sounding the alarm about the ways it has changed American politics — suggested the studies were too limited, and too close to Meta itself, to be persuasive, including Frances Haugen, the former Facebook executive who leaked internal company files in 2021, and Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, an advocacy group focused on information controls for social media.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
The Verge
Jul 27, 2023
Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants to build a new agency to police Big Tech

“An independent regulatory commission tasked with challenging the monopolistic power of Big Tech companies will not only provide the additional oversight needed to keep the industry in check, but also complement the work of our existing regulatory bodies,” Nicole Gill, Accountable Tech executive director and co-founder, said in a statement to The Verge on Wednesday.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Business Insider
Jul 14, 2023
Mark Zuckerberg needs to better moderate Threads or it’ll ‘become as toxic as Twitter,’ civil rights groups warn

The letter — led by Free Press, Accountable Tech, and Media Matters for America — says the groups have already seen indications that "new users have been testing the boundaries of the platform's moderation and enforcement."

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Washington Post
Jun 12, 2023
Trump charges will test social media rules on violent rhetoric

Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of the left-leaning advocacy group Accountable Tech and a former spokesman for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, said that tech companies are “much more comfortable inviting widespread societal unrest than pissing off conservatives.”

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Gizmodo
Jun 05, 2023
Instagram Bans, Unbans Facebook Critic, and It Won’t Say Why

Accountable Tech Co-Founder and Executive Director Nicole Gill agreed with that sentiment and told Gizmodo Meta’s “willingness to silence” its critics reinforced the critics of abuse and monopoly power lodged against them in the first place.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Jun 02, 2023
Statement on Meta’s Decision to Block News Content in Canada

Today’s decision demonstrates how much power Big Tech has over our communication systems and the distribution of news, and how little they care about anything other than profits.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
May 23, 2023
Accountable Tech on Meta’s $1.3 Billion EU Fine: “One of The Worst Violators of Privacy Laws”

This is a consistent issue we’ve seen with Meta over the last decade plus, where their business model is premised on collecting enormous amounts of personal data and weaponizing it to do surveillance advertising for colossal profits.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
BBC News
May 22, 2023
Jesse Lehrich Responds to $1.3 Billion Fines Against Meta by EU regulators

I think they're being singled out for good reason. Meta is one of the worst privacy violators of all time.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
CNBC
Mar 29, 2023
Donald Trump is back on social media, and nobody knows what happens next

The companies that punished Trump for his prior antics have little reason to believe his behavior will change. His Truth Social posts are littered with examples to the contrary. Advocacy group Accountable Tech wrote in a recent report that it found over 350 Trump posts on Truth Social that would violate Facebook’s safety rules.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Mar 21, 2023
Statement on Trump’s Dangerous Online Rhetoric, as Law Enforcement Readies for Violent Protests

In January, while giving Trump the keys to his Facebook account, Meta claimed the threat he posed to public safety had ‘subsided.’ On Friday, YouTube followed suit, citing a ‘careful’ evaluation of the risk of violence.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Mashable
Mar 17, 2023
Donald Trump is back on YouTube and using Facebook again

"The very same day Trump released a video calling the 2020 election ‘stolen’ and [demanded] January 6th insurrectionists be released from prison, YouTube decided to let him back on their platform," Nicole Gill, executive director of the advocacy group Accountable Tech said in a statement provided to Mashable.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Reuters
Mar 17, 2023
Trump returns to Facebook

More than 350 of his Truth Social posts would have violated Facebook's rules, including posts amplifying the conspiracy theory QAnon and pushing false claims of election fraud, liberal advocacy group Accountable Tech said in a December report.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
NPR
Mar 17, 2023
‘I’M BACK!’ Trump posts on Facebook, YouTube for first time in two years

Advocacy group Accountable Tech found that hundreds of Trump's posts on Truth Social would violate most social media companies' community standards. The group said Trump released a video on the site on Friday that falsely alleges the 2020 election was stolen and that the Jan. 6 insurrectionists should be released from prison.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Mashable
Feb 25, 2023
Meta allows Trump back on Facebook and Instagram

"Today, Meta chose to put its own profits above American democracy and the real-world safety of its users," said Nicole Gill, co-founder and executive director of the advocacy nonprofit Accountable Tech in a statement provided to Mashable. "I want to be very clear: there is absolutely no justification for allowing Donald Trump back on Facebook...This is a man who used the platform to incite a deadly insurrection against the United States – and whose behavior has only gotten more dangerous in the years since. Trump has repeatedly used Truth Social to fuel violence, spread election lies, and promote domestic terrorist organizations like QAnon."

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
VOX
Feb 09, 2023
It’s official. Trump is back on Facebook and Instagram.

If and when Trump starts posting again on Facebook and Instagram, prepare to see more of what he’s been sharing on Truth Social: From April 28 through October 8, Trump shared 116 posts amplifying “followers and sympathizers of QAnon,” and 239 posts containing “harmful election-related disinformation,” according to the tech watchdog group Accountable Tech. He’s also made comments promoting election fraud conspiracy theories that critics say encouraged harassment of election workers, such as threats of hanging, firing squads, torture, and bomb blasts.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Jan 25, 2023
Accountable Tech Statement on Meta’s Decision to Reinstate Donald Trump

Today, Meta chose to put its own profits above American democracy and the real-world safety of its users.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
CNN
Jan 25, 2023
Meta says it won’t punish Trump for attacking the 2020 election results. But the 2024 vote is a different story

It’s nothing unusual for Trump. A research report published earlier this month by the watchdog group Accountable Tech found that Trump had written more than 200 posts containing “harmful election-related disinformation” since he was banished from Meta’s platforms.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
NBC News
Jan 25, 2023
Facebook and Instagram to end Trump’s suspension from platforms

A mobile billboard, deployed by Accountable Tech, outside the Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., on Jan. 17.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Politico
Jan 25, 2023
Meta to reinstate Donald Trump’s Facebook account

Watchdog group Accountable Tech criticized Facebook for prioritizing its bottom line. “Today, Meta chose to put its own profits above American democracy and the real-world safety of its users,” said Nicole Gill, the group’s executive director, in a statement.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
The Daily Beast
Jan 25, 2023
Meta to Reinstate Trump on Facebook and Instagram ‘In the Coming Weeks’

“I want to be very clear: there is absolutely no justification for allowing Donald Trump back on Facebook,” said Nicole Gill, co-founder of the tech-focused advocacy group Accountable Tech. “Two years ago, Meta said it would only reinstate Trump if his presence on the platform no longer carried a threat of violence. Today’s decision reveals that promise for what it was: another empty publicity stunt by a company more concerned with making money than with democracy, safety, or even internal consistency.”

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
NPR
Jan 25, 2023
Meta allows Donald Trump back on Facebook and Instagram

The advocacy groups Accountable Tech and Media Matters for America estimated last month that more than 350 of Trump's Truth Social posts would directly violate Facebook's rules against QAnon content, false election claims and harassment of marginalized groups.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Jan 17, 2023
Accountable Tech Demands Meta “Keep Trump Off Facebook” with Mobile Billboards Outside Meta Offices in San Francisco, DC, and New York

Mobile billboards from Accountable Tech are circling the national mall and Meta offices in Menlo Park, New York City, and Washington, DC today urging Facebook to uphold its ban of former President Donald Trump.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
The Hill
Jan 09, 2023
Meta weighing decision on Trump ban

Accountable Tech and Media Matters for America last month launched a “Keep Trump off Facebook” ad campaign along with a report highlighting hundreds of Trump’s posts on Truth Social they said would violate Facebook’s rules. The posts amplified followers and sympathizers of the QAnon conspiracy theory and contained “harmful” election-related disinformation.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Forbes
Jan 08, 2023
Trump Campaign Urges Facebook To Remove Block On His Account As He Gears Up For Presidential Run

The tech watchdog nonprofit Accountable Tech is advocating for Meta to continue its ban on Trump’s accounts and has launched a billboard campaign outside of Facebook offices in Washington, Menlo Park, Calif., and New York City. "If Facebook looks at what Trump has been putting out publicly in the past few years, it is clear he is not a reduced threat to safety, If anything, he has gotten more emboldened,” Executive Director Nicole Gill told The Financial Times.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
AXIOS
Jan 04, 2023
Meta expected to decide soon on fate of Trump accounts

Accountable Tech and Media Matters for America released a six-figure digital and TV ad buy last month for a "Keep Trump Off Facebook" campaign.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Forbes
Jan 04, 2023
Meta Weighs Reinstating Trump’s Facebook Account After 2-Year Ban—Here’s How It Will Work

A study published last month by left-wing free speech advocacy group Accountable Tech suggested that more than 350 of Trump’s posts on Truth Social would have violated Facebook’s policies, including his baseless election denial allegations, his promotion of far-right conspiracy group QAnon, as well as posts that would violate Facebook’s harassment against marginalized groups policy.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Business Insider
Dec 24, 2022
Pressure builds to keep Donald Trump off Facebook ahead of his possible reinstatement

Nearly half of Trump's posts and reposts on Truth Social in the week after the 2022 midterm elections pushed claims of election fraud and amplified QAnon accounts or content, according to December research from Media Matters. Another study by Accountable Tech found more than 350 of Trump's Truth Social posts would violate Facebook's safety guidelines.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Fast Company
Dec 23, 2022
Meta would be making a mistake handing Trump back the keys to Facebook

As the leaders of two tech and media watchdog groups, we’ve closely tracked Trump’s online behavior since he incited that deadly insurrection, and we can unequivocally say: There is no justification for allowing Trump back on Facebook.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Dec 14, 2022
AT + MMFA Release New Research, TV Ad in Push to Keep Trump Off Facebook

Accountable Tech released new research finding that more than 350 posts from Donald Trump’s “Truth Social” account – the equivalent of two posts per day – would directly violate Facebook’s Community Standards.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Nov 23, 2022
On the Heels of Landmark California Kids and Teens Online Safety Bill, Meta Announces Updated Safety and Privacy Measures

These updates show why passing laws that change the incentive structure for Big Tech is imperative. The California Age Appropriate Design Code is already pushing companies like Meta to proactively enhance their existing limited privacy and safety measures for children and teens.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Oct 26, 2022
New Six-Figure TV Ad Buy Slams Facebook for Gutting Election Integrity Safeguards Ahead of Midterms

Big Tech watchdog Accountable Tech announced a $250,000 national TV and digital ad buy slamming Facebook for rolling back election integrity safeguards ahead of the upcoming midterms.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Sep 22, 2022
Statement on News that Meta is Considering Replatforming Trump

Meta’s indication that Donald Trump will be allowed back on the platform – despite his increasingly dangerous behavior since – would be equivalent to handing a flamethrower to an arsonist.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
New York Times
Aug 23, 2022
To Fight Election Falsehoods, Social Media Companies Ready a Familiar Playbook

“I think they’ve just come to the conclusion that this is not really a problem that they can tackle at this point,” said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a nonprofit focused on technology and democracy.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
New York Post
Aug 09, 2022
Facebook gave teen’s private messages about alleged abortion to Nebraska police

“These tech giants have accumulated an unfathomable amount of sensitive data on each and every one of us,” Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, told The Post. “They are going to dutifully comply with subpoena requests like this in a post-Roe world.”

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Washington Post
Jun 24, 2022
Senate Democrats urge Facebook CEO to bolster gun sales ban

Earlier this week, the advocacy groups Accountable Tech and Giffords urged Zuckerberg to replace the policy with a “more decisive two-strike policy” instead, according to a letter obtained by The Post.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Jun 09, 2022
Student Defense, Accountable Tech Worry FAFSA Student Data Sent to Facebook Could be Used for Predatory, Discriminatory Advertising

Student Defense and Accountable Tech today called for a full investigation into reports that the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) released personally identifiable information from an unknown number of federal aid applicants to Facebook.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
The Hill
Mar 22, 2022
Advocates urge Congress to pass online kids’ safety reforms

The letter is signed by 60 advocacy organizations, including Fairplay, the Center for Digital Democracy, Accountable Tech and the American Academy of Pediatrics. It was addressed to the top lawmakers of both parties in the House and Senate.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Cheddar News
Feb 14, 2022
Jesse Lehrich on How Congress Can Rein in Big Tech

There's been a lot of talk for years on Capitol Hill, but Congress has the chance now to rein in Big Tech's harms.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Gizmodo
Dec 15, 2021
It Appears Facebook Spent More Money on the ‘Meta’ Name Than on Funding the Metaverse

This sharp contrast between the naming rights and the amount of funding dedicated to the metaverse was pointed out by @Accountabletech on Twitter. Accountable Tech is a not-for-profit and is all about taking on big companies like Facebook and Twitter, basically, holding big tech accountable.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Al Jazeera
Dec 08, 2021
Zach Praiss on Adam Mosseri’s Testimony

It's pretty rich for a company to roll out new protections and proposals to protect kids online just hours before a congressional hearing, when they've known about these harms for years according to their own internal research.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Cheddar News
Dec 08, 2021
Nicole Gill on Adam Mosseri’s Congressional Testimony

Facebook is the top spender on lobbying in D.C. They do exactly the opposite of what Mark Zuckerberg says he supports in public when Facebook says they support government regulation.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Politico
Nov 16, 2021
Lawmakers fighting ‘Big Tech’ flock to Oracle’s townhouse

"Accountable Tech has launched a database that compiles news outlets’ coverage of the Facebook Papers leaked by Haugen."

Kenya Juarez Kenya Juarez
Meta
Politico
Oct 26, 2021
Facebook looking for its voice at a ‘watershed moment’

“I do think they’ve burnt a lot of bridges,” said Jesse Lehrich, the co-founder of advocacy group Accountable Tech.

Kenya Juarez Kenya Juarez
Meta
Teen Vogue
Oct 26, 2021
Instagram Is Bad for Teen Mental Health — We Want to Know All the Data

"In this op-ed, Gen-Z for Change and Accountable Tech calls on Facebook to release all of its internal research on the effects of Instagram on teen mental health."

Kenya Juarez Kenya Juarez
Meta
BBC News
Oct 26, 2021
Rishi Bharwani on Congressional Hearings with Big Tech CEOs

We're seeing growing momentum in Congress for legislation to rein in Big Tech's harms.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Cheddar News
Oct 26, 2021
Rishi Bharwani on the Senate Commerce Committee Hearing on Big Tech

Each of these platforms use so many of the same design tactics as Instagram, which have been shown to negatively harm kids according to even their own internal research.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Teen Vogue
Oct 26, 2021
Instagram Is Bad for Teen Mental Health — We Want to Know All the Data

It’s time for Facebook to release the remainder of its internal research on the effects Instagram has on young people. We stand ready to support all efforts to build a safer space for all of us.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Insider
Oct 25, 2021
A ‘lobbyist who has to make the president happy’ is part of Facebook’s content moderation, employees complain: report

"Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of advocacy group called Accountable Tech, told POLITICO that "it is a fatal flaw of Facebook as a company that their team in charge of lobbying governments clearly is empowered to intervene on product and content decisions in ways that make it impossible to do good work."

Kenya Juarez Kenya Juarez
Meta
Politico
Oct 25, 2021
Facebook staff complained for years about their lobbyists’ power

"'It is a fatal flaw of Facebook as a company that their team in charge of lobbying governments clearly is empowered to intervene on product and content decisions in ways that make it impossible to do good work,' said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of advocacy group Accountable Tech and former spokesperson for Hillary Clinton."

Kenya Juarez Kenya Juarez
Meta
Politico
Oct 22, 2021
Will tech provisions make the cut in Democrats’ spending bill?

"Accountable Tech is launching Main Street Against Big Tech, a project aimed at highlighting the impacts of major tech companies on small business owners."

Kenya Juarez Kenya Juarez
Meta
TechCrunch
Oct 22, 2021
Tech watchdog campaign challenges big tech for hiding behind small business

"But counter to the warm and fuzzy anecdotes that Big Tech has rolled out over the years, some business owners struggle with relying so heavily on massive, opaque corporations and often have little recourse if things go wrong. Those struggles are the kind of thing that tech watchdog group Accountable Tech wants to draw attention to with its new awareness push, 'Main Street Against Big Tech.'”

Kenya Juarez Kenya Juarez
Meta
Cheddar News
Oct 22, 2021
Rishi Bharwani on the Need to Regulate Big Tech

Congress can pass a historic bipartisan package of antitrust bills to rein in Big Tech's abuses of monopoly power.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Newsy
Oct 21, 2021
Rishi Bharwani on Meta’s New Name

This is what damage control looks like. This is exactly what Philip Morris did in the past and oil companies have done the same in the past.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Wall Street Journal
Oct 17, 2021
How to Fix Facebook, Instagram and Social Media? Change the Defaults

"I’d be shocked if this Congress manages to pass a sweeping federal privacy law,” said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a progressive-leaning nonprofit dedicated to reigning in social-media giants. “But I do think bills like the KIDS Act that take direct aim at those manipulative features are suddenly in play.”The Wall Street Journal: "I’d be shocked if this Congress manages to pass a sweeping federal privacy law,” said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a progressive-leaning nonprofit dedicated to reigning in social-media giants. “But I do think bills like the KIDS Act that take direct aim at those manipulative features are suddenly in play.”

Kenya Juarez Kenya Juarez
Meta
Politico
Oct 14, 2021
Senators unveil long-awaited antitrust bill

"More than 40 human rights organizations have launched HowToStopFacebook.org, a campaign calling on legislators to investigate the company using subpoena power...Members include Fight for the Future, Accountable Tech, the Center for Digital Democracy and Fairplay."

Kenya Juarez Kenya Juarez
Meta
Newsy
Oct 12, 2021
Rishi Bharwani on the Growing Internal Evidence on Facebook’s Harms

There are a lot of similarities between Big Tech and Big Tobacco, but Big Tech's harms are more pervasive and far-reaching.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Cheddar News
Oct 11, 2021
Rishi Bharwani on Facebook’s New Safety Features for Kids

I think this is Facebook's attempt to stave off regulation. This rollout from Facebook is a PR play. If they were really interested in helping kids, they would have done these changes years ago.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Washington Post
Oct 05, 2021
Facebook’s facial recognition rollback shows limits of self-regulation, officials say

Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of the left-leaning advocacy group Accountable Tech, said he’s not banking on lawmakers advancing new facial recognition and biometric rules this Congress."

Kenya Juarez Kenya Juarez
Meta
Bloomberg
Oct 05, 2021
Facebook Whistle-Blower to Share ‘Frightening Truth’ With Senate

Bloomberg: "According to Rishi Bharwani, policy director for Accountable Tech, a group that advocates for reforms to social media, 'these companies are so large that no single legislative intervention will fully mitigate their societal harms.'”

Kenya Juarez Kenya Juarez
Meta
The Verge
Oct 05, 2021
The whistleblower hearing hits Facebook where the company is weakest

“It’s the focus on the business model at the crux of this, because that is what ties all of these scandals together,” Rishi Bharwani, director of partnership and policy at Accountable Tech, told The Verge in an interview Monday. “It’s why Facebook is profiting off of and playing a determining role in the Rohingya genocide. It’s why Facebook is allowing the continued spread of COVID mis- and disinformation. It’s because they’re profiting off of it.”

Kenya Juarez Kenya Juarez
Meta
Cheddar News
Oct 05, 2021
Rishi Bharwani on Meta’s Unprecedented Outage

For the first time since Facebook's inception, during Facebook's outage there was no dangerous disinformation being spread on the platform.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Spectrum News
Oct 05, 2021
Rishi Bharwani Responds to Latest Documents from Frances Haugen

We can no longer rely on Facebook to be forthcoming with the information that they have, we need to demand it.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Bloomberg Law
Oct 04, 2021
Facebook Whistle-Blower to Share ‘Frightening Truth’ With Senate

"Forcing Facebook to be a better steward of its immense power will take a combination of all these legislative strategies, according to Rishi Bharwani, policy director for Accountable Tech, a group that advocates for reforms to social media."

Kenya Juarez Kenya Juarez
Meta
Politico
Sep 30, 2021
Senators vs. Facebook, Round 2

"Accountable Tech launching a six-figure national TV ad buy this morning and planning a post-hearing rally with other groups, including Fairplay and the so-called Real Facebook Oversight Board."

Kenya Juarez Kenya Juarez
Meta
Politico
Sep 28, 2021
House Judiciary mulls how to juice tech competition

"Dozens of civil society groups, including Accountable Tech...urged leaders of the House Science Committee in a letter dated Monday to take action against Facebook over its decision to revoke access to the NYU researchers."

Kenya Juarez Kenya Juarez
Meta
Sep 14, 2021
Statement on Facebook’s Cover-Up of Teen Trauma

There is nothing more chilling than turning one’s back on a child who’s in harm’s way. Yet, this is what Facebook and Instagram executives do every day.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
AXIOS
Aug 24, 2021
The limits to Facebook’s transparency

"They are constantly finding new ways to slice and dice data to advance their preferred narratives about their products," Accountable Tech's Jesse Lehrich told Axios. "But quarterly reports showing YouTube and Amazon were the most-viewed domains do nothing to help us understand the fast-changing threat landscapes on vaccine disinformation, political extremism or anything else meaningful."

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Aug 18, 2021
Statement on Facebook’s Latest Claims about Tackling Vaccine Misinformation

Facebook is teeming with deadly vaccine misinformation. You don’t have to take my word for it – just spend a few hours on the platform.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
AXIOS
Aug 18, 2021
Facebook says it sees signs that COVID vaccine hesitancy is declining

The other side: Critics blasted Facebook, with Accountable Tech executive director Nicole Gill saying that "Facebook is teeming with deadly vaccine misinformation."

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
USA Today
Jul 27, 2021
Instagram’s privacy changes: Will they actually keep creepy adults away from young users?

"These long overdue changes are an important acknowledgment from Facebook of the many harms kids and teens face on their platforms, from manipulative product designs and pervasive surveillance advertising to unwanted contact from predators," said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit. "It should not take years of tireless advocacy from child safety and tech accountability NGOs to earn bare minimum protections for platforms' most vulnerable users, but it nonetheless speaks to the unprecedented pressure Big Tech is facing over their exploitative business practices."

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
The Hill
Jul 26, 2021
Tech groups urge Congress to ‘dig deeper’ on Facebook role in Capitol riot

The renewed push from the groups, Accountable Tech, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), Media Matters and the Tech Transparency Project, comes the day before the House select committee holds its first hearing and as the federal government continues to clamp down on the spread of misinformation on social media platforms.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
The Hill
Jul 21, 2021
‘Superspreader’ Facebook accounts spewing dangerous vaccine misinformation

According to the social media watchdog Accountable Tech, 11 out of the 15 top results on Facebook regarding vaccines last week were disinformation or anti-vaccine content.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Jul 06, 2021
Accountable Tech Launches FOIA Investigation into Facebook’s Coordination with Trump Administration

Today, Accountable Tech launched an investigation into Facebook’s coordination with the Trump Administration by filing a series of FOIA requests with agencies across the federal government.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
CNN
Jun 23, 2021
Frustration and bewilderment: Emails show tension between Facebook and Biden campaign

“They make cosmetic tweaks, whatever they think is enough to signal that they are taking things seriously. But they don’t actually care,” said Jesse Lehrich, the co-founder of Accountable Tech, an outside political organization that pressures social media giants to make structural changes. “I have zero expectation that they’ll make any meaningful changes to prevent another catastrophe.”

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Forbes
Jun 18, 2021
Zuckerberg’s Decline In Popularity Has Important Lessons For Business Leaders

Last July, Forbes.com reported that only 20% of registered voters had a favorable view of Zuckerberg, according to a survey conducted by Accountable Tech and GQR Research. Forbes reported, “Zuckerberg’s favorable rating has dropped by 28% since 2016, and he is viewed unfavorably by both[political] parties—leading GQR Research to note that while President Donald Trump is also viewed unfavorably by 56% (favorably by 39%), Zuckerberg is less popular, as he does not have any strong base of support.”

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
The Hill
Jun 10, 2021
Advocacy groups target Facebook employees in push to keep Trump off platform

The ad featured a letter signed by the groups, including Media Matters for America, Accountable Tech, the Anti-Defamation League, Avaaz and the Black Lives Matter Global Network, to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg calling it “unconscionable” to even consider giving Trump a chance to return.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Washington Post
Jun 10, 2021
The Technology 202: Advocacy groups target employees in fight to keep Trump off Facebook

Media Matters for America, a left-leaning nonprofit organization, and Accountable Tech are running online ads with quotes from Facebook employees criticizing the company’s announcement that it would allow Trump to return to the platform in 2023, after the company banned him in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. The advocacy groups are directing the ads to people who list Facebook as an employer or are located near the company’s offices.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Politico
Jun 04, 2021
SCOTUS decision fuels calls to update anti-hacking law

To mark the occasion, the groups Accountable Tech and Media Matters for America are running a full-page ad in today’s New York Times, as well as digital ads, calling on Facebook to keep the former president off its platform permanently. Mobile billboards paid for by those two groups will also circle Facebook’s D.C. office and Capitol Hill — a sign that progressive groups are concerned the social media company could allow Trump back on as soon as today.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
AXIOS
Jun 03, 2021
Exclusive: New campaign urges Facebook not to reinstate Trump

The new $200,000 campaign by nonprofits Accountable Tech and Media Matters for America urges Facebook not to reinstate Trump's accounts. The two groups say they're prepared to spend more on future campaigns depending on what Facebook does.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Mashable
May 05, 2021
Facebook’s Oversight Board upholds Trump’s suspension

"When a company establishes its own quasi-judicial global ‘supreme court’ for self-regulation, that’s not a constraint on its power – it’s an absurd embodiment of it," said Accountable Tech co-founder Jesse Lehrich in a statement provided to Mashable yesterday. "The Facebook Oversight Board is a corporate PR tool designed to shirk responsibility and stave off actual regulation."

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Vice
May 05, 2021
Trump Isn’t Getting Back on Facebook Any Time Soon

“It is a corporate PR tool designed to shirk responsibility and stave off actual regulation,” Jesse Lehrich, the co-founder of activist group Accountable Tech, said in a statement.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
May 04, 2021
Statement on Tomorrow’s Facebook Oversight Board Ruling

First, let’s be absolutely clear: When a company establishes its own quasi-judicial global ‘supreme court’ for self-regulation, that’s not a constraint on its power – it’s an absurd embodiment of it.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Politico
Apr 02, 2021
Takeaways from tech giants’ latest lobbying disclosures

Nonprofit group Accountable Tech is running a new ad campaign urging users to opt out of Facebook tracking their activity across the internet. The ads, which will run on Facebook and target iPhone users in D.C. and the Bay Area, are timed to coincide with a new Apple software update that will prompt users to opt out of cross-app tracking.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
NBC News
Mar 22, 2021
Big Tech’s critics have organized for years. Now, some are speaking with one voice.

The new coalition of 38 advocacy groups and nonprofits signed a letter calling for a ban on what it called “surveillance advertising.” It said that online ads powered by personal data and behavioral history have enabled radicalization and given tech platforms a dominant advantage over traditional ads bundled with journalism

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
WIRED
Mar 22, 2021
This Group Wants to ‘Ban Surveillance Advertising’

“I was frankly shocked by how much appetite there was for this, and by how receptive folks were to the pitch,” said Jesse Lehrich, a cofounder of the advocacy group Accountable Tech. According to a January poll commissioned by Accountable Tech, 81 percent of respondents said they would be in favor of reforms to “ban companies from collecting people's personal data and using it to target them with ads.” By contrast, only 63 percent said they supported breaking up companies like Facebook and Google, another idea that has been proposed by lawmakers like Elizabeth Warren.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
New York Times
Jan 13, 2021
Now Social Media Grows a Conscience?

“Without any impetus to serve the public good, these companies are going to keep amplifying extremist positions,” said Jesse Lehrich, a co-founder of the nonprofit organization Accountable Tech.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
The Verge
Dec 04, 2020
Biden coronavirus appointee has cut ties with Facebook, transition team says

On Thursday, Accountable Tech co-founder Jesse Lehrich called Zients a “talented problem-solver” but said Facebook’s role in spreading anti-vaccine misinformation could not be ignored. “Facebook must be held accountable for amplifying misinformation that has undermined our pandemic response and sown baseless distrust in vaccines,” Lehrich said. “In order to guard against conflicts of interest, Mr. Zients should immediately divest of the significant equity he earned in Facebook from his service on the Board and commit to hiring an online misinformation expert to handle his team’s engagement with major social media platforms.”

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Dec 03, 2020
Statement on Jeff Zients Being Tapped as COVID Czar

While Jeff Zients is rightfully renowned as a talented problem-solver, his recent service on Facebook’s Board of Directors raises serious concerns about how he’ll navigate his role as the incoming administration’s COVID-19 czar.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
The Verge
Nov 11, 2020
Facebook extends political ad ban another month as Trump refuses to concede

“If Facebook and Google are truly incapable of reviewing and safely running Georgia Senate ads without opening the floodgates of paid disinformation across their platforms, it’s a damning indictment of their own business model,” said Nicole Gill, executive director of tech policy advocacy group Accountable Tech, said in a statement. “These companies are already failing to curb the viral spread of conspiracy theories designed to delegitimize our elections. As has always been the case, deceptive organic content — boosted by toxic algorithms – continues to drive social media’s disinformation crisis; not paid content. Preventing campaigns from running ads to inform Georgians about how and why to participate in these critical runoff elections is actively harmful to democracy.”

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Nov 11, 2020
Statement on Facebook and Google’s Ad Moratorium

If Facebook and Google are truly incapable of reviewing and safely running Georgia Senate ads without opening the floodgates of paid disinformation across their platforms, it’s a damning indictment of their own business model.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Oct 30, 2020
Statement on Facebook’s Political Advertising Debacle

It’s infuriating to see Facebook’s ineptitude and aversion to transparency once again inflict avoidable damage during the final stretch of an election.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Vice
Oct 21, 2020
Facebook Staff Urged to Snitch on Zuckerberg Over Election Disinformation

And the trend is set to continue: Accountable Tech, which as its name suggests is trying to hold Big Tech companies accountable, will broadcast an ad slamming Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It will air during the final presidential debate on Thursday night.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Mashable
Oct 21, 2020
New ad asks Mark Zuckerberg if Facebook makes his kids proud

A new video is set to air on TV that night targeting the Facebook founder. The organization behind the clip, Accountable Tech, is spending $250,000 on the ad buy. The ad starts with a clip of Zuckerberg talking to CNN Money. "I really just care about building something that my girls are going to grow up and be proud of me for," he says.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Oct 21, 2020
Accountable Tech Launches New TV Ad: “Proud Of”

Today, Accountable Tech is launching a new $250,000 ad buy calling out Facebook for facilitating the spread of misinformation and hate with real-world consequences.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Mashable
Oct 07, 2020
Watch the anti-Facebook ad set to run during the VP debate

Accountable Tech, a nonprofit run by a former Hillary Clinton campaign spokesperson and the former executive director of Tax March, hopes to focus that attention with an ad spot during Wednesday's debate on, according to CNN. The ad, embedded above, focuses on Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg's noted failures to live up to its and his stated goals.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
CNN
Oct 07, 2020
Ad attacking Mark Zuckerberg to air during VP debate

A television ad attacking Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for his company’s handling of hate and misinformation will air during Wednesday’s vice presidential debate coverage, the group behind the ad — Accountable Tech — tells CNN Business.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
VOX
Oct 06, 2020
Facebook bans QAnon (again)

“Their announcement acknowledged several important truths — that enforcement at the individual post level cannot counter hate and disinformation; that content need not explicitly support violence to bring about real-world harms; and that without aggressive deterrence, these platforms will continue to serve as critical organizing and recruitment tools for extremist movements,” said Accountable Tech’s co-founder Jesse Lehrich in a statement.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Forbes
Sep 29, 2020
Biden Campaign Slams Zuckerberg For Letting Trump ‘Sow Distrust In Our Democracy’

79%. That’s the percentage of respondents who said social media companies should do more to protect democracy, according to a recent Accountable Tech/GQR Research poll. The poll also found that 62% of respondents are not confident in social media companies’ ability to prevent election misinformation from influencing the November election, with 42% saying they have no confidence in Facebook specifically.

Avatar Victoria Vinall
Meta
Sep 29, 2020
Broad Coalition Urges Facebook To #StopGroupRecs Until Election Results Are Certified

Facebook Groups pose a singular threat to this election season. They’ve become hidden breeding grounds for disinformation campaigns and organizing platforms for extremists. And Facebook’s AI actively grows these dangerous networks by promoting them to vulnerable users.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Sep 24, 2020
Statement on Facebook Oversight Board’s Press Offensive

Nearly three years after Mark Zuckerberg set into motion plans for a so-called ‘Supreme Court’ – and after months of sustained pressure for the Oversight Board to grapple with urgent Facebook debacles around the globe – board members have embarked on a press tour about their impending launch.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Sep 01, 2020
Statement on Chan and Zuckerberg Election Investment

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Aug 20, 2020
New Report Shows How Facebook’s Algorithms Boosted Hate and Misinformation at Inflection Points

Today, Accountable Tech released a new report examining how Facebook’s algorithms operated during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the wake of George Floyd’s killing – and found they played a toxic role at each of these inflection points.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Mercury News
Aug 16, 2020
Facebook is a hate-for-profit machine. Here’s a quick fix

Facebook says it brings the world closer together, but its own research shows it divides us.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Jul 30, 2020
Facebook and Twitter Must Act on Election Disinformation

President Trump’s posts this morning should be a blaring red siren for social media platforms, whose woefully inadequate election misinformation policies continue to undermine the integrity of our democracy.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
VOX
Jul 30, 2020
Why Facebook and Twitter won’t fact-check Trump’s latest false claims about voting

Jesse Lehrich, the co-founder of the nonprofit Accountable Tech, which is pushing Facebook to tighten its rules on harmful speech, warned that by doing nothing social media companies could exacerbate the problem of misinformation online.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Jul 29, 2020
Antitrust Hearing Advances Case for Serious Reforms | Zuckerberg Emails Reveal Anti-Competitive Acquisition of Instagram

Big Tech companies serve as information and market gatekeepers, but they have consistently abused that status to maximize profits at the expense of the public good. As today’s hearing made clear, their monopoly-like power begets more anti-competitive behavior and removes the incentives to act responsibly.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
The Verge
Jul 28, 2020
Can Brett Kavanaugh be impartial about Facebook?

On July 24th, a coalition of nine progressive groups, including Demand Justice, Freedom From Facebook and Google, and Accountable Tech, released a statement calling on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to recuse himself from a case involving Facebook due to his close friendship with the company’s vice president of public policy, Joel Kaplan.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Jul 23, 2020
New Polling Highlights America’s Views on Big Tech, Facebook Boycott, Mark Zuckerberg

According to new exclusive polling conducted by GQR, Americans overwhelmingly agree that social media companies should do more to combat online hate and misinformation, that Big Tech companies have too much power, and that the Stop Hate For Profit campaign is demanding much-need reforms.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Forbes
Jul 23, 2020
Mark Zuckerberg Is Even Less Popular Than Donald Trump, Poll Finds

As Facebook faces sharp scrutiny and a growing advertising boycott amid the coronavirus pandemic, racial justice movement and impending November election, a new poll of 1,000 registered voters nationwide from Accountable Tech and GQR Research conducted July 15-19 finds that American voters have turned against Facebook, believing the company does more harm than good and broadly disapproving of CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the power he wields.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Politico
Jul 21, 2020
Coronavirus scams (back) in the spotlight

“A new policy-focused nonprofit that emerged from the recent wave of big tech scrutiny is calling for members of Facebook’s Oversight Board to either step up or step down,” TechCrunch reports on the group Accountable Tech.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Jul 20, 2020
Advocacy Groups Release Open Letter Urging Facebook Oversight Board Members To Take A Stand

A broad coalition of civil rights, free press, environmental, and tech accountability groups has released an open letter to the U.S.-based members of the Facebook Oversight Board urging them to resign in protest unless they are empowered to swiftly address the platform’s facilitation of voter suppression and climate denialism.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Jun 30, 2020
Accountable Tech Launches Campaign, Ads Targeting Facebook’s Faux ‘Supreme Court’

Amid growing outrage over Facebook’s refusal to crack down on hate and disinformation, Accountable Tech launched a multi-pronged campaign Tuesday targeting their toothless Oversight Board.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
The Telegraph
Jun 30, 2020
Pressure grows on Alan Rusbridger and other members of Facebook’s oversight board to speak up

An American non-profit has started an online ad campaign to try to force the Oversight Board to speak up.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
NBC News
Jun 30, 2020
Months before it starts, Facebook’s oversight board is already under fire

Accountable Tech, a progressive nonprofit, launched a campaign Tuesday to persuade the members of Facebook's independent oversight board to demand more authority over content decisions.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
New York Times
Jun 21, 2020
What’s Facebook’s Deal With Donald Trump?

Jesse Lehrich, the co-founder of Accountable Tech, a new nonprofit group pushing Facebook to tighten controls on its platform, suggested that the two men have a tacit nonaggression pact. “Trump can rage at Big Tech and Mark can say he’s disgusted by Trump’s posts, but at the end of the day the status quo serves both of their interests,” Mr. Lehrich said.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Jun 17, 2020
Statement on Zuckerberg Voting Announcement

On the one hand, it’s encouraging to see Mark Zuckerberg preview a seemingly robust effort to help Americans vote in November – and that progress is a testament to the relentless advocacy from Facebook employees, civil rights activists, and many others who have made their voices difficult to ignore in recent weeks.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
Jun 02, 2020
Accountable Tech Launches Facebook Ads Targeting Facebook Employees As More Stand Up To Zuckerberg

Accountable Tech launched a five-figure ad buy Tuesday aimed specifically at reaching Facebook employees on their own platform, as more and more boldly express their outrage over the path being charted by the company’s leadership.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
Meta
AXIOS
Jun 02, 2020
Nonprofit targets Facebook employees in new ad campaign

The targeted ads went live today on Facebook and come from newly launched Accountable Tech, which is spending "five figures" on the effort, Axios has learned. The campaign follows yesterday's employee walkout and rising internal dissent over Facebook's handling of President Trump's tweets.

Zach Praiss Zach Praiss
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