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In two letters sent to Mark Zuckerberg today, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) has removed itself from Meta’s external civil rights advisory group due to concerns over its content moderation and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility policy changes.

Earlier this year, Meta announced several changes to its content moderation policies, including ending third-party fact checking and removing automated systems that cull hateful speech. The letter from LDF to Mark Zuckerberg highlights that these changes will have a series of negative consequences for Black and other historically marginalized communities, ranging from rises in hate-motivated violence to an increased spread of mis- and disinformation. 

Separately, LDF also sent a letter to Meta urging the company to reverse course on its decision to roll back diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility policies. This change could reinforce discriminatory barriers to employment at Meta and further exacerbate the potential for harm to Black communities using Meta’s platforms.