CENTER FOR COUNTERING DIGITAL HATE INC

THE CENTER FOR COUNTERING DIGITAL HATE (CCDH) IS A LEADING CAMPAIGN ORGANIZATION HEADQUARTERED IN WASHINGTON, DC WHOSE MISSION IS TO PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES ONLINE. SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES ERODE BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES BY ENABLING THE SPREAD OF ONLINE HATE AND DISINFORMATION. THEY DENY THE PROBLEM, DEFLECT THE BLAME, AND DELAY TAKING RESPONSIBILITY. CCDH HOLDS THEM ACCOUNTABLE AND RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR BUSINESS CHOICES BY HIGHLIGHTING THEIR FAILURES, EDUCATING THE PUBLIC, AND ADVOCATING FOR CHANGE FROM PLATFORMS, CORPORATE ADVERTISERS, AND GOVERNMENTS TO PROTECT OUR COMMUNITIES. IN AUGUST 2023, WE PUBLISHED OUR STAR REPORT, WHICH INCLUDED THE RESULTS OF POLLING SHOWING THAT THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE IN THE US ARE TIRED OF BEING EXPLOITED BY SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES AND WANT GOVERNMENTS AND PLATFORMS TO ADDRESS ONLINE HATE AND DISINFORMATION. MOST OF THE PEOPLE POLLED AGREED WITH THE FOUR PRINCIPLES OF OUR STAR FRAMEWORK FOR SOCIAL MEDIA REGULATION: SAFETY BY DESIGN, TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY. WE LED A MOVEMENT OF MORE THAN 70 CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS AND ACADEMICS TO SUPPORT THE RIGHTS OF INDEPENDENT RESEARCHERS TO HOLD SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS ACCOUNTABLE FOR HARMS. OUR RESEARCH HAS EXAMINED ONLINE THREATS TO GENDER AND RACIAL JUSTICE, CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH, AND DISINFORMATION SURROUNDING CLIMATE CHANGE AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH. WE EXAMINED STRUCTURAL DEFICIENCIES IN THE DESIGN OF PLATFORMS AND ONLINE TOOLS INCLUDING TWITTER, META'S HORIZON WORLDS, GOOGLE'S BARD AI, TIKTOK, GOOGLE SEARCH, AND MIDJOURNEY IN 2023 WE SECURED MORE THAN 3,600 MENTIONS ACROSS PRINT, BROADCAST, RADIO AND DIGITAL MEDIA, AND GARNERED MORE THAN 1.3 BILLION VIEWS FOR OUR PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT ON HARMS TO CHILDREN.