Dear Sheryl Sandberg

Dear Sheryl,

You’re right: Facebook has “a long way to go” to repair its civil rights track record. As the results of your internal civil rights audit show, and global pressure mounts for Facebook to do something  about hate, political coercion and false news items, there are simple and effective ways to improve your policies and the people who enforce them; adopt a binding set of universal rules that protect the platform, the users, and the advertisers from being targeted as victims or being targeted. 

Career online community moderators -- from old school forums to cutting edge social media -- know strong guardrails governing online behavior increase the stakes among participants. The guardrails must be backed up by the corporate terms of service, supported by the company’s legal department, and have clear connections to global law enforcement. 

Here is an opportunity for Facebook to show its market power and leadership in the face of a bad report card. The timeline for creating an internal body that both creates the clear guidelines (I provided a sample below) is immediate: Immediately find a C-suite civil rights executive and an advisory board that not only invites bold-face names, but also leaders from the growing online community profession-- I have several in my contacts and readily volunteer to help. 

Here is a sample outline of basic rules that will protect Facebook and its members from civil rights infractions: 

1. Constructive dialogue is welcome here. Please think before you post. Do not either post attacks or provoke attacks. 
2. Bullying, trolling, hate speech, outright threats, veiled threats, and any other method to impugn someone else’s safety is not tolerated. 
3. Please be vigilant and mindful in your participation here. Proceed at your own risk. 
4. This platform reserves the right to take action--suppression, suspension, expulsion, or, in extreme cases, notifying law enforcement, of any participant who violates Rule #2, at our discretion and in accordance with our Terms of Service. We also reserve the right to change our Terms at any time to meet the changing needs of this platform.
5. If you see content which violates our rules, please go here <link> to report it. Our moderation team will review your report within XX business days. 

These rules come with a price tag: Facebook must employ thousands of human beings to detect and adjudicate content shared on Facebook. May I suggest a portion of the 3 million college graduates in the Class of 2020 who are looking for work while in lockdown? The members of this untapped workforce are internet natives, capable and hungry.  

Facebook must build a scoring system for members (like a driver’s license infraction points system) that terminates membership after so many warnings, it must relentlessly innovate in AI to catch content before it goes live, it must offer continual training, coaching, and mental health support to the workforce. Facebook can and should charge its returning advertisers a “safety tax” for every ad placed on the platform-- not unlike the TSA fee every American pays when traveling by air. 

It's not too late to restore Facebook to its primary purpose: connecting people to each other and to topics about which they are passionate. Please act now. 

Warmly,

Shira Levine 

Online Customer Engagement Expert

Facebook member and active user since 2007

Shira Levine is a strategic marketing consultant living in Melbourne, Australia. For more information, contact her on LinkedIn or at Fanchismo.com.