Facebook VP wrote site's actions were 'de facto good' – even if they led to deaths
Zuckerberg says he disagrees with 2016 memo, which acknowledged site could cost lives or play role in terror attacks
'We connect people. Period. That's why all the work we do in growth is justified,' the memo, by Andrew Bosworth, said. Photograph: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
A top Facebook executive warned in a leaked memo that the platform could lead to deaths and could help terrorists plan attacks, but argued that the negative outcomes were a reasonable byproduct of the company's broader "growth tactics" and mission to "connect" people.
一名Facebook高管在一份泄露的备忘录中警告称,该平台可能导致死亡,并可能帮助恐怖分子策划袭击,但他辩称,负面结果是该公司更广泛的"增长策略"和"连接"人民的使命的合理副产品。
The public disclosure of the 2016 memo, in which a vice-president, Andrew "Boz" Bosworth, wrote "anything that allows us to connect more people more often is *de facto* good", prompted the CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, to defend his company's mission in a hastily released statement on Thursday.
在公开披露2016年备忘录的过程中,副总统安德鲁•博斯沃思•博斯沃思写道:"任何能让我们更频繁地联系到更多人的东西,都是事实上的好事。"这促使首席执行官马克•扎克伯格在周四匆忙发布的声明中为自己公司的使命辩护。
Zuckerberg said Facebook "never believed the ends justify the means" and said he strongly disagreed with the memo circulated by Bosworth, whom he described as a talented but provocative force in the company.
Bosworth wrote: "Maybe it costs a life by exposing someone to bullies. Maybe someone dies in a terrorist attack coordinated on our tools." The memo, which provides an insight into the philosophy among some at the Silicon Valley giant, continued: "It is literally just what we do. We connect people. Period. That's why all the work we do in growth is justified."
The memo, published in full by BuzzFeed and confirmed by Facebook representatives, comes at a time when the technology corporation is battling significant backlash in the wake of reporting in the Observer and the Guardianrevealing that the personal information of 50 million users was used by the electioneering firm Cambridge Analytica.
The leaked memo – which implied that Facebook was pursuing growth at all costs and defended "questionable" data practices – prompted defensive statements on Thursday from Zuckerberg and Bosworth, who claimed that the memo was meant to be "provocative" and is out of line with the company's values.
"Boz is a talented leader who says many provocative things. This was one that most people at Facebook including myself disagreed with strongly," said Zuckerberg, who is currently facing intense scrutiny over the data scandal and is expected to soon testify before Congress. "We've never believed the ends justify the means. We recognize that connecting people isn't enough by itself. We also need to work to bring people closer together. We changed our whole mission and company focus to reflect this last year."
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