Image retrieved from Pixabay user Fill via CCo 1.0
At the end of January, Facebook began to roll out a petition feature for users across the United States, calling the new tool “Community Actions.” Here, users are able to create a petition about a self-identified social issue, and accrue support from friends and members of the broader Facebook community. As well, this feature allows users to tag relevant organizations and government officials, providing the opportunity to request change on a local and national level. However, petition supporters would not be able to tag politicians like Donald Trump or Mike Pence. Within this feature, users can also create events and fundraisers that are able to be linked on the page, and conduct a forum for discussion with fellow supporters [1]. Since its initial release, it has been likened to political features already available on the social media platform such as Town Hall and Candidate Info. It differs in the way that it is intended to spur government and organizational action, and not just function as a hub for information or a space for users to merely rally around a social cause.
While Facebook has often been used for the organization and support of social causes (the first Women’s March in 2016 was organized via Facebook events), with the announcement of Community Actions, many have come to wonder if Facebook is the ideal platform to host this type of forum, creating space for many currently unanswered questions [2]. It has been stated that a combination of user flagging, proactive algorithmic detection, and human enforcers will work together to manage the feature, however, it is unclear as to what the guidelines these moderators will operate from. Is there proper policy to prevent the spread of mis/disinformation and hate speech? And how will this be adequately conducted? As well, many wonder if individuals are able to stand up or rally against a created petition, because as it currently stands, only supporters are able to join the feed. How, then, will this feature prevent a mob mentality from developing on fringe issues, or issues based in misinformation? And what would happen when opponents of a social issue flag the petition as abusive, even if it may conform to community standards? Questions also arise about the dependency on Facebook to organize such petitions, and its role in facilitating communication around these issues.
As Facebook has seen more than a fair share of controversy in the last several years regarding the collection and sale of user data [3][4][5], as well as numerous privacy breaches [6][7], many wonder if the social media platform can be trusted with the management of what could be a potentially contentious feature. As well, with consideration for Facebook’s role in the 2016 United States election as well as Brexit, it may be a point of concern for users to publicly align themselves with social causes on the social media site. While the petition platform has only recently begun testing and use through small populations across the States, there are numerous reasons to be apprehensive of the new feature.
What are your thoughts on Facebook’s new petitions feature? Would you be concerned with how it may be moderated? Do you think discussions about petitions should be stored on Facebook? Or, is this a logical next step for a platform that already organizes many social causes and connects supporters? Be sure to leave a comment in the discussion box below.
For more information, check out these articles:
Digital Activism | Digital Tattoo
How Long Before Facebook’s New Petition Feature is Complicit in Genocide? | Gizmodo
Facebook is launching a petitions feature | The Verge
edited by: Jason Cheung
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