Lead filer Arjuna capital provided an exempt solicitation letter to the SEC in response to Meta’s opposition statement, further clarifying the purpose of the proposed annual report, and the need for additional transparency and oversight related to gAI misinformation.
The rise of generative AI (gAI) over the last 18 months has raised numerous questions about how to regulate these powerful new technologies so that they do not compromise people’s ability to exercise their human rights. Generative AI poses a particular threat to the right to freedom of expression, including the right to access information, because it makes it so easy to create and spread deceptive, yet believable content. False content threatens people’s ability to make informed decisions, a prerequisite for healthy democracies.
Shareholders at Alphabet and Meta, following on the success of a similar resolution at Microsoft last month, have filed shareholder proposals recommending that the companies issue annual reports on the risks of misinformation and disinformation produced and amplified by their deployment of generative artificial intelligence (gAI). All three companies have made multibillion dollar investments in gAI.
At Microsoft’s annual general meeting on Thursday, shareholders will vote on a resolution recommending that the company issue an annual report on the material risks of generative AI-powered mis- and disinformation to its business operations. The proposed report would include Microsoft’s plans to mitigate those risks, as well as the effectiveness of its efforts. The resolution, which appears as Proposal 13 on the company’s proxy statement, was submitted by Arjuna Capital (lead filer), Azzad Asset Management, Eko, and Open MIC.
“Finance-focused strategies promise to be a game-changer in advancing human rights in the digital age,” said Jessica Dheere. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to build on Open MIC’s pioneering work in this field and to explore new frontiers, by broadening the base of people who are adept at challenging corporate power to ensure that information technologies do not compromise—and ideally reinforce—social justice and people’s expression, privacy, and labor rights.”
Shareholders at Alphabet and Meta, following on the success of a similar resolution at Microsoft last month, have filed shareholder proposals recommending that the companies issue annual reports on the risks of misinformation and disinformation produced and amplified by their deployment of generative artificial intelligence (gAI). All three companies have made multibillion dollar investments in gAI.
In a major victory for investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ruled that Meta - the parent company of Facebook and Instagram - must give investors an opportunity to consider and vote on a shareholder proposal that questions Meta’s ”social license to operate an emerging technology like the metaverse” without fully understanding the potential risks and negative impacts.
NEW YORK CITY - June 1, 2020 – Shareholders of Facebook and Amazon (whose names are not Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos) are sending an important message regarding a host of serious concerns affecting corporate governance, political advertising, facial recognition, surveillance and other critical civil rights issues.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Robert Menendez, Kamala Harris and Richard Blumenthal today released the text of a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg which echoes shareholder concerns over the social media platform’s policy regarding disinformation, “specifically as it pertains to hate speech, discriminatory targeting and the threats such disinformation poses to civil rights and voting rights in advance of the 2020 election.”
Citing a host of concerns about social media platforms and their global impact on civil and human rights, shareholders have filed proposals at Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Facebook and Twitter asking the companies to establish Director-level oversight and expertise on those issues. Shareholders are concerned by big tech’s ongoing negligence around enabling racism and discrimination online and threatening the human rights of consumers worldwide.
The reports from the proxy advisors come amid mounting pressure for change at the top levels of Facebook. In today’s open letter to Facebook’s largest institutional shareholders, investors and leading civil society organizations are seeking support for a “Vote No” campaign that would withhold votes from Mr. Zuckerberg as a member of Facebook’s board. “As Facebook’s largest institutional investors, your vote ‘no’ on Mark Zuckerberg will send a clear message that it is past time for new governance,” says the letter.
Facebook Inc.’s Board of Directors responded to pressure from shareholders and quietly adopted important and substantial changes to the charter of one of the board’s key committees, renaming the committee and broadening its mission to include oversight of issues that have placed the social media platform at the center of global controversy, including privacy, data use, community safety and cybersecurity.
Shareholders, organized in part by Open MIC, have long been calling on Facebook to address critical issues, such as the platform’s role in enabling election interference, violations of privacy, “fake news” distribution, online hate speech and sexual harassment. Yet CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the company’s senior management have consistently brushed this all under the rug – until the recent Cambridge Analytica data scandal and other controversies finally forced these problems into the light and Zuckerberg himself into congressional testimony.
Top proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has recommended that Facebook investors vote in favor of two shareholder proposals, developed with support from Open MIC, aimed at improving the company’s performance on issues such as election interference, online harassment and risk management.
As algorithms and Artificial Intelligence become ubiquitous in our modern world, their capacity to make life better becomes clearer - as do many critical risks. Open MIC's new report, “Formulas for Trouble: Why Smart Companies Must Tread Carefully With Algorithms,” highlights the need for businesses to beware of baked-in bias.
“If any other publicly-held company continually failed to improve its performance on such mission-critical issues, the CEO would have resigned or been fired by now. Zuckerberg must face consequences for his inaction, which is why Open MIC is calling on him to resign – or for Facebook’s board to fire him. At the very least, the company should take steps to separate the roles of CEO and Chairman – both of which Zuckerberg currently holds – thus providing some improved governance for the company. Facebook impacts the lives of hundreds of millions every day; it’s time for a CEO who will act quickly and transparently to address the platform’s problems and stop endangering us all.”
Shareholders in Facebook, Google and Twitter with assets worth more than $25 billion have filed proposals with the companies in the last week demanding answers and accountability related to foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election, as well as threats posed by the growth of hate speech and disinformation on the three platforms.
Concerned that long-term shareholder wealth may be at risk if Facebook and Google do not do enough to “address fake news and hoaxes,” Arjuna Capital, in partnership with Baldwin Brothers, Inc., is asking the two tech giants (proposals to Google here and Facebook here) to evaluate the impact fabricated content is having on their platforms and businesses.
