Social networking sites Facebook & Twitter absent from ‘free speech pact’
March 8th, 2011 - 12:03 am ICT by Aishwarya BhattNew York, Mar 7 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The proposed ‘Free Speech Pact’ amongst some tech websites seem to be in danger after some top websites failed to sign up for it.
The initiative of Google, Yahoo and Microsoft seems to have hit a snag because three years after its introduction there has been no additional signatories to the pact. Top sites like Twitter and Facebook have all stayed away from the pact.
The move which is dubbed ‘Global Network Initiative’ is meant to balance the importance of profits and responsible reporting. The tech companies that started that initiative were hoping that they would get the needed momentum to bring changes to the industry.
That dream has been dealt a great blow because Twitter and Facebook combined has almost a billion users and nothing could be considered serious without the involvement of the two companies.
The managing director of Global Network Initiative, Susan Morgan, told reporters that, “Recent events really show that the issues of freedom of expression and privacy are relevant to companies across the board in the technology sector. Things really seem to be accelerating.”
The companies that have signed up to the initiative would be accessed at the end of the year to determined if they have done enough to promote freedom of speech and privacy.
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