In the midst of the crisis facing Facebook due to the fact that fake news is circulating on its platform, it is to come to light that the company has secretly developed a tool for suppressing messages that appear in the feeds of users in specific geographical areas, according to the New York Times.
The tool is reportedly developed with the blessing of CEO Mark Zuckerberg to help accept the social platform in China, where Facebook has been blocked by 2009.
So Facebook reportedly developed a tool for use by third parties, such as local businesses and government of China. These businesses (and the government) will have complete control over what appears in the feeds of users of the social network.
The NYT reports that the development of this feature began last year, and technicians within the company have created different teams led by Vaughan Smith, vice president of facebook in the corporate and business development division.
Internally, the tool is not exactly secret. Employees asked Zuckerberg to tell them about it at one of the company's regular Q&A sessions in July. The CEO of the largest social network then replied:
"It's better for Facebook to be a place to chat, even if the conversation is not complete."
Although Facebook does not want to call himself a media business, it is very difficult for the world to accept it:
About eight out of ten Americans use Facebook, and about two-thirds of social network members are reading news from the platform.
The revelation of a secret censorship tool in projects that Facebook is preparing will definitely lead to bigger problems. It seems that Facebook executives with CEO Mark Zuckerberg are so blinded by their desire to conquer the world that they are willing to ignore basic moral principles.
