Friday, March 29, 2024

Viber says it is cutting business ties with Facebook

Citing Facebook’s data violations and failure to combat violent rhetoric, messaging app Viber said it is taking measures to cease ad spending, as well as remove product touchpoints with the social media giant.

Viber said it will remove Facebook Connect, Facebook SDK, and GIPHY, as well as cease all ad spending on the social networking platform, boosting the growing #StopHateForProfit movement to boycott the tech goliath.

Amid the protests that broke out all over the US over the past few weeks, a group of six organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and NAACP, called on Facebook advertisers to pause their spending on the social networking site during the month of July over the company’s inability to protect users from hate speech.

Viber said Facebook’s hate-speech stumble was the last straw that pushed it to cut ties with the Silicon Valley firm as it mentioned the numerous instances of its data misconduct, including the infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal in which the political consulting firm improperly harvested data of up to 87 million Facebook users.

 “Facebook continues to demonstrate poor judgment in understanding its role in today’s world. From the company’s mishandling of data and lack of privacy in its apps, to its outrageous stand of avoiding the steps necessary to protect the public from violent and dangerous rhetoric, Facebook has gone too far,” said Viber CEO Djamel Agaoua.

“We are not the arbiters of truth, but the truth is some people are suffering from the proliferation of violent content and companies must take a clear stand.”

The actions to remove the relevant Facebook touchpoints from the Viber app are expected to be completed by the beginning of July 2020. Ad spending on Facebook will cease effective immediately.

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