The recent launch of the Stop Hate for Profit campaign has raised a great deal of awareness in the public forum about the problem of online content that promotes racism, hate, violence and, especially, false information. In our work to make the internet safer for everyone to enjoy, ESET has often encountered such types of content, especially in connection with ill-intentioned actors who attempt to manipulate, harass, scam or otherwise use social engineering against internet users with the purpose of stealing, causing damage and/or hurting others.
In order to help address this problem, ESET has decided to suspend advertising its products and services, and any other commercial campaigns, on Facebook until the end of August. We will instead continue to use the platform’s advertising and community engagement services to support and even further boost education-focused awareness campaigns that help combat malicious intent and misinformation.
By shifting our paid engagement for our products and services from Facebook to other channels, we join in requesting Facebook take steps to substantially limit the use of its platform for the spread of misinformation and hate.
ESET CEO Richard Marko comments, “At ESET, we have a vision to enable all internet users to enjoy the full potential of themselves and their technology in a secure digital world. By working with ethical and passionate people, and through education and commitment to research and education, we try to achieve this vision. It is impossible to stop misinformation, fake science and hate speech completely in a free society. We, however, have the choice to use our best abilities and the most advanced technologies to fight these perilous trends. And we certainly have the choice to raise our voices and ask giants like Facebook to lead such a fight and serve as an admirable example. We are ready to offer our expertise and experience to combat these problems together.”
ESET will continue to monitor the situation and actively engage in the conversation about the usage of Facebook and other internet platforms and communities as a medium to spread misinformation and hate; and, based on that progress, ESET will adjust its course of action accordingly.