Meta accused in Africa case
Meta Platforms has been accused of amplifying hate speech and inciting violence on Facebook in Africa in a lawsuit filed in Kenya’s high court that’s calling for about $2 billion in restitution.
The case was brought by Ethiopian researchers Abrham Meareg and Fisseha Tekle, along with Kenyan human rights group Katiba Institute, and supported by legal nonprofit Foxglove.
Meareg’s father, chemistry professor Meareg Amare, was shot and killed outside his home last November after a series of hateful posts targeted him for attack, the court filings state.
The petitioners argue that the public needs protection from Facebook’s “woeful failure to address violence on its platform” and its design that “promotes and prioritizes hateful, incitement and dangerous content,” according to court filings seen by Bloomberg News.
Meta, which generated revenue of $117.9 billion in 2021, uses a recommendation algorithm on Facebook that promotes content that users are more likely to interact with in order to hold people’s attention.
This allows people to be served more ads so the company can maximize revenue, according to the court documents.
“Content that promotes violence can and does translate to violence off-line,” the documents state.
Meta says it invests in enforcing its rules against hate speech and incitement of violence.
“Feedback from local civil society organizations and international institutions guides our safety and integrity work in Ethiopia,” the company said in a statement.
Companies slow stock buybacksU.S. companies are cutting share buybacks to conserve cash in the face of economic uncertainty, which threatens to add another weight to the equity market’s attempted rebound.
S&P 500 Index firms bought back just over $200 billion of their own shares during the third quarter, marking the slowest quarter for repurchases since the middle of last year and coming in roughly 25% below the levels seen in late 2021 and early 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The pullback chips away at what had been a major force in lifting the stock market over the past two years as corporations used surging profits to buy back their own shares.
If the trend continues, it would create another headwind for the S&P 500, which is still down 16% this year even after rallying back sharply from its mid-October low.
“Buybacks can be a significant driver of market returns, especially in the large cap sector,” said Phil Blancato, the chief executive officer at Ladenberg Thalmann Asset Management. “This would be another component of softer returns for 2023.”
The communication-services industry was among the biggest decliners in share repurchases during the third quarter, with companies such as Facebook owner Meta Platforms seeing revenue drop as businesses scale back on digital advertising.
From wire reportsConsumer discretionary and technology companies including Amazon.com and Microsoft also reduced their buybacks, outweighing an increase from the energy sector.