This US senator, Elizabeth Warren have accused Facebook of failing to protect democracy

An American senator accused Facebook of failing to protect democrat Elizabeth Warren referred to the platform’s decision to extend the ban on political ads while the definition of votes remains open in the state of Georgia. He spoke of “lack of will” and “inability” on the part of Mark Zuckerberg’s social network.

The United States senator and former candidate for the presidency for the Democratic Party, Elizabeth Warren, pointed out this Wednesday against Facebook after the announcement of the platform that it would extend the ban on political ads for one more month while the state voting is finalized from Georgia.

“This is a ‘straw man,'” said the representative for the state of Massachusetts invoking a type of logical fallacy of the same name that occurs when a position is refuted with misrepresentations and ridicules without addressing the underlying argument. In this case, The decision pointed out that Facebook’s decision would have no significant effect on containing the advance of disinformation, in a context in which President Donald Trump is reluctant to accept the victory of Democrat Joe Biden, while threatening to judicialize the election.

“The problem is not the ads. [ The problem] is Facebook’s unwillingness to regulate those ads and its inability to control organic disinformation on its platform, which they are letting go during a critical moment for our democracy. “Warren wrote in a message thread on the social network Twitter.

He added: “Facebook has repeatedly failed in its responsibility to protect our democracy. They made big proclamations about what they are doing to combat false information, but what is really happening on their platform speaks for itself. ”

“Facebook’s poorly designed policies are not only endangering our democracy. Their ban on ads is even preventing nonprofits from getting critical resources to reach people during this pandemic and economic crisis. “, argument.

“Enough,” he concluded.

According to what was published this Wednesday in numerous US media, the company led by Mark Zuckerberg let it be known that its ban on political ads would last another month in the United States, although there could also be “a chance” that it would be lifted earlier.

Originally, Facebook had announced the ban as part of measures to combat misinformation and other abuses on its site, but they were to last just a week.

“While various sources have projected a presidential winner, we still believe that it is important to help prevent confusion or abuse on our platform,” Facebook reported in an email accessed by Reuters.

As false claims about the integrity of the election multiply on social media, Google, which belongs to parent company Alphabet Inc, also appears to be sticking with its ban on post-election political advertising, which was expected to last at least a week. after the polls close on November 3.

A Google spokeswoman previously said the company would lift its ban based on factors such as the time taken for votes to be counted and whether there was civil unrest.

The bans mean that the platforms will not accept election announcements before the two ballots that will take place to define the two Senate seats in Georgia that could decide control of that chamber.

If the Democrats win, they will control a tied Senate thanks to the fact that Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be in charge of breaking the vote. If Republicans win one or both seats, they will remain a majority in the Upper House as they have been now, anticipating a problem for the future Biden administration.

Facebook has been working to reduce false information after the Nov. 3 election, as President Donald Trump and some allies continue to make unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud and dispute the outcome.

Biden’s campaign, for its part, has criticized Facebook for allowing such messages to spread, with the potential to provoke violence.