Sheryl Sandberg repeated a Facebook talking point that’s beginning to wear thin.
Asked if Facebook is a media company, she resisted the characterisation. “At our heart we're a tech company; we hire engineers. We don’t hire reporters, no one’s a journalist, we don’t cover the news."
Is Facebook a media company, or just a technology platform?
Is it failing to take corporate corporate social responsibility for how its platform is being used?
Facebook does not want to be viewed as a media company, which would bring a responsibility to the truth and cost it more to maintain itself like a proper media company. Sandberg's comments come a day after the outgoing boss of the UK's media regulator, Dame Patricia Hodgson, said both Google and Facebook were publishers in her view.
The prospect of more regulation for Facebook, in the real world where publishers obey stricter rules over what they can and can't publish, seems inevitable.
This is the same argument Google and other Social Media use all the time.
It is an odd way of viewing the impact of your business on the larger society. Their argument is the same as a company that constructs train lines or roads, but claims they are not responsible for safety of the people who use it. To some extent they are right, as you cannot hold a road construction company responsible for a drunk driver or speeding car causing an accident.
However, the construction company has duty of care to ensure their road or railroad is safe to use, the bends are designed for safe navigation if used within the speed limit and by sober drivers, bridges can take permitted weights, etc. So whilst the construction company is not responsible for the users (the content of their infrastructure), they are responsible for providing a safe transportation infrastructure.
To me, the same argument stands for these companies. They provide the conduit and means of communication for people to not only exchange ideas and concepts, but also promote them. This means they are responsible for providing a safe place for everyone and protect against false claims, fake news, intimidation, prejudice, and bigotry.
BTW, for avoidance of any doubt, I think Sheryl Sandberg is an extremely intelligent and talented person, which makes me even more convinced that she is being disingenuous & just towing the company line. You cannot be as smart as her and still believe in this stance.