Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Facebook has been accused of making financial contributions to charities that independently advise it on child protection.
John Carr, a government-appointed executive board member of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, reportedly accused the social network of “cynical window dressing” in its approach to child welfare, after a newspaper revealed that five charities on Facebook’s safety advisory board allegedly received “contributions” that could possibly compromise their independence.
The Times reported that British charity Childnet International received money from Facebook despite them not appearing on a list of supporters on its website.
It claimed Childnet International’s chief executive Will Gardner declined to say how much it received from Facebook but alleged the company paid for him and a colleague to travel to California for annual board meetings.
It quoted Mr Gardner as saying that the payments were “not something that clouds our [Childnet International’s] judgement” before he reportedly added that the company would not be able to advise Facebook without payment.
The Times went on to claim that Facebook initially denied paying any member of its child safety board but said it eventually admitted paying Childnet International when challenged.
The Times said Facebook additionally went on to admit it gave “a range of support”, including payment of subscriptions, sponsorship and free advertising, to the other four members on its safety advisory board - Connect Safely, the Family Online Safety Institute, WiredSafety and the National Network to End Domestic Violence.
It also claimed that Facebook had asked its child safety board members to sign non-disclosure agreements to prevent competitors finding out about products it was developing.
Speaking to The Independent, a Facebook spokesman said: “The Safety Advisory Board work with us to achieve one goal - to make our products safer – and our close collaboration with them is in no way intended to stifle criticism. On the contrary, we welcome their frequent private and public feedback on what we do as a company. Like other leading technology companies we have a Safety Advisory Board who feed into the development of our products. All members are chosen as they are experts in a particular area of Internet safety, and as a result we frequently support their education campaigns and initiatives."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments