Facebook is again in the news. And again for the wrong reasons. The company reportedly asked some of its users in a survey whether it was okay for men to seek nude photos from children on Facebook or not.
Facebook is again in the news. And again for the wrong reasons. The company reportedly asked some of its users in a survey whether it was okay for men to seek nude photos from children on Facebook or not. The social media site asked users whether they would allow something like this or not if the
Facebook is again in the news. And again for the wrong reasons. The company reportedly asked some of its users in a survey whether it was okay for men to seek nude photos from children on Facebook or not. The social media site asked users whether they would allow something like this or not if they were running Facebook, conveniently ignoring the fact that seeking sexual photos or making sexual advances towards school kids and children is not only morally and ethically abhorrent but is also legally a crime in most societies in the world.
Apparently Facebook realised its mistake soon and removed the poll. It also said that the survey was a mistake. The Guardian reports that the social media network has accepted that it was a mistake to ask users if paedophiles seeking sexual pictures from children should be allowed on its website.
The social-media giant on Sunday ran a survey for some users asking users for ways in which it could improve the website. The survey started with a question: “ABC, we’re asking a small group of people for their opinion. Could you take a few minutes to answer a short survey?” Once a user clicked on Start Survey, he or she were given this question: “In thinking about an ideal world where you could set Facebook’s policies, how would you handle the following: a private message in which an adult man asks a 14-year-old girl for sexual pictures.”
What’s worse? Facebook’s options for respondents ranged from “this content should be allowed on Facebook, and I would not mind seeing it” to “I have no preference on this topic.”
One of the four options read, “This content should not be allowed on Facebook and no one should be able to see it.”
None of the options given by Facebook talked about law interference or security of the child. Instead Facebook in the next question asked users to report to the social media itself in case there rose a need for stricter rules in such cases.
The question asked by Facebook was, “When thinking about the rules for deciding whether a private message in which an adult man asks a 14 year old girl for sexual pictures should or should not be allowed on Facebook, ideally who do you think should be deciding the rules?” The options included, “Facebook decides the rules on its own”, “Facebook decides the rules with advice from external experts”, “external experts decide the rules and tell Facebook”, “Facebook users decide the rules by voting and tell Facebook” and lastly “I have no preference”.
Facebook’s vice president of product, Guy Rosen told the Guardian that the survey was a mistake. “This kind of activity is and will always be completely unacceptable on FB. We regularly work with authorities if identified. It shouldn’t have been part of this survey. That was a mistake.”
For Facebook, bad news has become the order of the day. The website has faced severe criticism over the subject of misinformation and fake news, and for putting its business concerns above the well-being of social networking. There have been studies after studies that have showed that Facebook is helping spread hateful content around the world and has become a tool for many to exploit others. Although Facebook has acknowledged some of these concerns, the company has been also accused of not doing enough and not doing it fast.
