Facebook’s vice president could not give a “yes or no” answer Sunday on whether the platform’s algorithms helped proliferate Jan. 6 Capitol rioters’ content.
Nick Clegg dodged a straightforward question from CNN’s Dana Bash regarding Facebook’s involvement in spreading what the interviewer called “pro-insurrection” voices leading up to the breach, in which Capitol Police fatally shot 35-year-old Ashli Babbitt as she and hundreds of rioters stormed the congressional building. Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified on Oct. 4 that the tech giant didn’t properly invest in safeguards against “dangerous” activity.
“I understand you have said that only those who broke the law in and around Jan. 6 are to blame for the insurrection, but just a simple yes or no — did Facebook’s algorithms amplify or spread pro-insurrection voices ahead of Jan. 6?” the CNN host asked.
After explaining how algorithms work but dodging a polar answer, Clegg said “technology has downsides,” as well as “very powerful, positive effects.”
The host pressed him: “But my question is specifically about Jan. 6. Did the algorithms that are in place amplify pro-insurrection voices ahead of Jan. 6? Yes or no?”
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“Given we have thousands of algorithms and you have millions of people using this, I can’t give you a yes or no answer to the individual, personalized feeds that each person uses,” Clegg replied.
Facebook cooperated with law enforcement “to give them content that might have shown up on our platform,” he added.
“But let’s be clear — of course Jan. 6, the responsibility for that is for the people who broke the law and inflicted the violence, who aided and abetted them, who encouraged them both in politics and in the media,” Clegg said.
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He called Facebook algorithms an “individual fingerprint” for each user, determined by engagement with friends, family, and other groups.
“If our algorithms are as nefarious as some people suggest, why is it that it’s precisely those systems that have succeeded to reduce hate speech, the prevalence of hate speech, on our platforms to as little as 0.05%?” Clegg asked. “I wish we could eliminate it to zero.”
