Starbucks announced it will suspend its advertising on certain platforms in response to hate speech.
In addition to the popular coffee shop chain, other large companies around the world, such as Coca-Cola, Diageo and Unilever, have also removed their ads from some social media platforms.
A Starbucks spokesperson said the suspension does not include YouTube, which is owned by Google.
Starbucks states: “We believe in unifying communities, both in person and online.”.
According to the company, it “will have internal discussions, with its social media partners, as well as with civil rights organizations to stop the spread of hate speech.” However, it will continue to advertise on social media, without payment.
The announcement came after Coca-Cola called for "greater accountability" from social media companies.
Coca Cola said it would stop advertising on all social media platforms globally, while Unilever, owner of Ben & Jerry, said it would stop advertising on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram in the US, "at least" for 2020.
These moves by the companies are a result of the criticism that Facebook has received regarding the posts made on platform .
Mark Zuckerberg said Friday that Facebook will ban ads that contain claims “that people of a particular race, ethnicity, national origin, religious group, caste, sexual orientation, gender identity, or immigration status” pose a threat to others.
Organizers of the #StopHateforProfit, which accused Facebook of not doing enough to stop hate speech and misinformation, said a “small number of small changes” would not “solve the problem.”
Starbucks said that while it is suspending advertising on some social platforms, it will not participate in the #StopHateForProfit campaign. More than 150 companies have stopped advertising in support of #StopHateforProfit.
The campaign appears to have forced Mr. Zuckerberg to take further steps, including creating permanent civil rights “infrastructure” on Facebook, submitting to independent audits for identity-based hate and misinformation, finding and removing public and private groups that post such content, and creating expert panels to review complaints.
One of the campaign organizers, Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, said their next goal is to get European participation. He added that the campaign hopes European regulators will take tougher measures on social media like Facebook.
In June, the European Commission announced new guidelines for companies, asking them to submit monthly reports on how they are handling coronavirus-related disinformation.
