Mark Zuckerberg calls for internet regulation

Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has called for governments and regulators to play a stronger role in the regulation of the internet.

Mark Zuckerberg

In an Op-Ed published on Sunday in newspapers including Washington Post, Ireland's Sunday Independent and France's Journal de Dimanche, Zuckerberg made the case for new government rules around harmful content, election integrity, privacy, and data portability.

"Technology is a major part of our lives, and companies such as Facebook have immense responsibilities," he wrote. "Every day, we make decisions about what speech is harmful, what constitutes political advertising, and how to prevent sophisticated cyber attacks."

"Lawmakers often tell me we have too much power over speech, and frankly I agree," Zuckerberg wrote.

He added that Facebook "shouldn't make so many important decisions about speech on our own" and that the situation had prompted Facebook to create an independent body to allow people to appeal its decisions.

Zuckerberg also said all major internet services should issue a quarterly report on their success in removing harmful content, and that new legislation should be introduced for protecting elections.

Zuckerberg believes "a common global framework — rather than regulation that varies significantly by country and state — will ensure that the internet does not get fractured, entrepreneurs can build products that serve everyone, and everyone gets the same protections," he wrote.

Facebook experienced harsh criticism this month following a deadly attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, during which the attacker livestreamed the events on the social media site.

As part of its continued investment across Sub-Saharan Africa and commitment to safety and security on our platform, recently opened a new content review centre in Nairobi, Kenya.

In partnership with Samasource – one of the largest digital employers in East Africa and a leading social enterprise — the site in Nairobi will be Facebook's first content review centre in Sub-Saharan Africa.

It will employ approximately 100 reviewers by the end of the year, who will support a number of languages, including Somali, Oromo, Swahili and Hausa.