The Technology 202: Sri Lanka social media shutdown reveals Facebook's Achilles' heel
A mobile phone screen shows that Facebook page can not open after government decided to shut down social messaging networks including Facebook islandwide in Colombo, Sri Lanka March 7, 2018. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte
The Sri Lanka shutdown offers a glimpse at one potential stark future for social media companies such as Facebook, which might see their operations severely curtailed more often in certain corners of the world if they don’t quickly improve their playbook for policing misinformation. This risk is especially pronounced in emerging markets, where Facebook is trying to rapidly attract new users — even though it may not yet have the resources to combat harmful content in these regions.
said Dipayan Ghosh, co-director of the Platform Accountability Project at the Harvard Kennedy School.Ghosh said Facebook was not designed for the needs of the cultural groups in Sri Lanka, and the algorithms it is developing to detect harmful content is most effective in languages such as English, and is not equipped to deal with rampant misinformation in Sri Lanka’s native language.
Sri Lanka's shutdown should put pressure on Silicon Valley companies to make greater investments in content moderation technology and policy resources in all of its international markets,Emerging markets might not be the biggest moneymakers for Silicon Valley tech giants in terms of ad revenue, but they are essential to Facebook’s expansion as it continues to try to increase its users around the world and show Wall Street it continues to grow at a fast clip.
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