- By Aditya Jha
- Mon, 13 Jan 2025 02:47 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Several of the tech giants, including Meta and Amazon, are bringing significant changes to their policies ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House. Amid growing criticism from the conservatives, these firms are scaling down their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program. The recent developments from the tech giants suggest that they are moving away from diversity policies.
Several of the corporations adopted the diversity policies after the 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd. During the protests, several civil societies asked the tech giants to adopt these policies, citing the less diversified office spaces. Earlier last week, Meta announced its decision to terminate its DEI programs. These programs covered hiring, training, and supplier diversity. However, this is only one of the significant changes that the company announced.
Meta also announced that it will discontinue its US fact-checking program, mentioning that the team was politically motivated. Meta also announced the promotion of Joel Kaplan to chief global affairs officer. Kaplan is a known Republican and is also considered close to Donald Trump. Besides, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White was also elected to Meta's board. These decisions are considered as an effort by Zuckerberg to rebuild his relations with Trump.
Apart from Meta, Amazon also announced that it will phase out its representation and inclusion programs. The firm stated that these programs were outdated and they were looking forward to adapting new methods in the changing legal environment.
Earlier on Friday, US outgoing President Joe Biden criticised Meta for its policy changes. He stated that the recent moves by the tech giant were "shameful" and were completely against the values of the country. Biden clarified that "truth matters" and it was important for the social media platforms to maintain the credibility. “I think it's really shameful. Telling the truth matters,” Biden was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
The International Fact-Checking Network has also warned of serious "consequences" if Zuckerberg takes these steps. In a letter to founder Zuckerberg, the IFCN warned that if Meta emulates the policy beyond the US, it will cause “real-world harm”. The IFCN emphasised that the whole world is dealing with the issue of fake news, and it is the responsibility of the social media giants to implement policies that counter them.