Civil rights groups urge Facebook to fix 'racially biased' moderation system

A coalition of more than 70 social and racial justice organizations urged Facebook to adopt reforms that would better target abusive content and harassment

Facebook allows white supremacists to spread violent threats while censoring Black Lives Matter posts and activists of color, according to civil rights groups that called on the technology company to fix its "racially biased" moderation system.

"Activists in the Movement for Black Lives have routinely reported the takedown of images discussing racism and during protests, with the justification that it violates Facebook's Community Standards," the groups wrote in a letter on Wednesday to CEO Mark Zuckerberg and director of global policy Joel Kaplan. "At the same time, harassment and threats directed at activists based on their race, religion and sexual orientation is thriving on Facebook."