German
Chancellor Angela Merkel has received assurances from Facebook founder Mark
Zuckerberg that the company will combat racist comments on the Internet. They
met on the sidelines of a UN development summit.
Deutsche Welle, 27 Sep 2015
 |
| Zuckerberg and Merkel talking at table |
Facebook
founder Mark Zuckerberg on Saturday promised German Chancellor Angela Merkel
that his company would work on measures to combat racist and hateful comments
on the social media platform.
In comments
heard over an inadvertently live microphone on the United Nations live stream
at a global summit in New York, Merkel asked whether Zuckerberg intended to
improve the situation, to which he answered: "Yes."
This comes
after German Justice Minister Heiko Maas met with Facebook representatives in
Berlin in mid-September following the posting of a number of right-wing
extremist and racist comments about refugees.
Maas had
expressed bewilderment that photos considered to be indecent were quickly
deleted, while hate speech postings were often left on Facebook pages even
after users had complained. Merkel had also called on the company to take
measures to fight mass incitement.
Among other
things, it was agreed at the meeting to form a task force to tackle the problem
of hate speech on the Internet.
Internet
for all
Also at the
UN special summit, which aims to formulate steps toward eradicating extreme
poverty by 2030, Zuckerberg and Microsoft founder Bill Gates pledged to attempt
to bring Internet access to everyone in the world by 2020.
"When
people have access to the tools and knowledge of the Internet, they have access
to opportunities that make life better for all of us," said a declaration
signed by Zuckerberg and Bill and Melinda Gates.
 |
| Bill and Melinda Gates have dedicated much of their wealth to philanthropic goals |
"The
Internet belongs to everyone. It should be accessible by anyone," the
statement added.
'Key
driver'
Zuckerberg
said for every 10 people connected to the Internet, one is lifted out of
poverty, adding that broader Internet access could allow 600 million children
who currently have no opportunity for schooling to be educated.
He also
described the Internet as "the key driver of social and economic progress
in our time," saying that it provided "the chance to build a common
global community with a shared understanding."
The current
UN summit, which ends Sunday, is aimed at fixing some of the world's greatest problems by means of a 15-year road map, which was endorsed on Friday by the
193 members of the world body. The plan includes measures to combat climate
change and eradicate the worst cases of poverty.
tj/sms (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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