The Sh%$ Gets Real

In response to revelations and law-suits, Facebook has ordered its Evil Minions to preserve documents back to 2016.  It's pretty clear that they would not have done this if they did not absolutely have to.

It also means that the potential regulatory and legal action against the social media giant is rather more serious than I have previously been aware of:

Facebook sent out a companywide notice on Tuesday ordering employees to preserve documents and communications dating back to 2016 in response to legal inquiries from around the world, according to internal documents obtained by The Washington Post.

The social media giant is battling a flood of media coverage following revelations about how much it knew about the social harm it causes, after a whistleblower came forward with tens of thousands of documents. The Facebook Papers show how researchers knew that the platform caused polarization in numerous countries, led people down misinformation rabbit holes, failed to stop a violent network that led to the January 6 insurrection, and had negative impacts on the mental health of young people.

“As you’re probably aware, we’re currently the focus of extensive media coverage based on a swatch of internal documents,” read the internal memo. “As is often the case following this kind of reporting a number of inquiries from governments and legislative bodies have been launched into the company’s operations. To comply with these inquiries, we need to preserve documents and communications since 2016 — this is known as a “Legal Hold.”

The memo suggests that the whistleblower’s allegations are having wide-ranging effects, as governments around the world take notice of the documents and begin to pursue potential action as a result. It also shows that the company is on high-alert over the ongoing fallout from the revelations.

………

The company recently said it was also limiting access among rank-and-file employees to Workplace discussions among teams that tackle topics such as platform safety and integrity, according to people familiar with the edict and news reports.

Facebook is in full CYA mode, and they are not happy campers.

They are also trying to limit employees access to internal documents to forestall future whistleblowers, but I think (hope) that they are closing the barn door after the cow has left.