Advertisers’ Boycott Still Hurting Facebook

In late June, several US civil rights groups called on some of the world's largest companies to pause advertising on Facebook in July, considering that the social network is not doing enough to stop hate speech in its platforms.

The campaign came after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer last May, sparking widespread protests against racial discrimination in the US. Later on, Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg came under fire after the social network left untouched a post by Donald Trump regarding the protests, which critics say was racially tinged and also violated the rules of the company against incitement to violence.

Days later, Facebook withdrew an advertisement from the Trump campaign for policies against "organized hatred." US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an online forum on COVID-19 misinformation that advertisers should use their influence to make social media companies held accountable. Among the brands that joined the boycott are The North Face, Ben & Jerry's, Patagonia, Upwork. As well as Unilever and Puma. 

Facebook has held discussions with at least two of its advertisers on June 30, according to Reuters. However, Facebook executives have not given clear answers on how they would address the topic of hate speech on the platform. As a result, more than 400 brands, including Coca Cola and Starbucks, withdrew their advertising on Facebook since yesterday. More and more companies are joining.

More news below:

• On Friday Microsoft announced that due to "a strategic change in its retail operations," it will permanently close most of its stores. The company will only keep four of them as Microsoft Experience Centers in London, New York, Sydney and on the Redmond campus.

• Walmart has taken another step forward and will now offer home internet service and will be growing the mobile phone service already available in its supermarkets.

• Atomic88-Alibaba Business School and GINgroup announced an agreement that will promote e-commerce in Mexico. The initiative aims to promote the creation of open and intelligent businesses to promote the digital economy in the country through awareness programs, training and networking.

• Amazon announced the acquisition of Zoox, a Californian startup already working on developing autonomous ride-hailing vehicles. This is Amazon’s first acquisition in the sector.