A top Biden staffer accused Facebook of 'shredding the fabric of our democracy' — yet another sign the social-media giant should fear the new administration

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A top Biden staffer accused Facebook of 'shredding the fabric of our democracy' — yet another sign the social-media giant should fear the new administration
Joe Biden, left, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.Reuters/Alan Freed; Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call
  • Bill Russo, a top advisor on President-elect Joe Biden's press team, on Monday published a series of tweets tearing into Facebook for the disinformation that has spread on its platform since Election Day.
  • Russo on Sunday also posted a retweet — which was swiftly deleted — that suggested the Biden administration might target Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
  • Russo's more recent Twitter thread suggests Facebook may have a tough four years dealing with the Biden administration.
  • Biden said in January that he wanted to revoke Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a part of US law that grants sweeping liability protections to tech companies for content posted on their platforms.
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A top advisor to President-elect Joe Biden has torn into Facebook in a thread on Twitter.

"If you thought disinformation on Facebook was a problem during our election, just wait until you see how it is shredding the fabric of our democracy in the days after," Bill Russo, a deputy communications director on Biden's campaign press team, tweeted late Monday.

Russo then attacked Facebook over the course of eight tweets for allowing violent and misleading content to flourish on the platform in the week following Election Day.

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He referred to a video in which Steve Bannon called for the head of Dr. Anthony Fauci and the proliferation of "Stop the Steal" Facebook groups.

He specifically criticized Facebook's decision to allow posts from President Donald Trump labeled as misinformation to be widely shared — whereas Twitter placed restrictions on labeled tweets meaning they couldn't be retweeted.

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Facebook began limiting the spread of posts, rather than just flagging them, on Thursday after Election Day.

"We knew this would happen," Russo's thread concluded. "We pleaded with Facebook for over a year to be serious about these problems. They have not. Our democracy is on the line. We need answers."

Read more: A Biden-Harris administration could mean a crackdown on the advertising and tech industries

This isn't the first time Russo has come after Facebook. On Sunday he reposted a tweet from the actor Sacha Baron Cohen with a picture of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg shaking Donald Trump's hand, captioned "one down, one to go."

Russo added the words "Hell yeah" to his retweet, which was quickly deleted.

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The fact Russo has now doubled down with a lengthy thread detailing Facebook's failures is an ominous sign for the social-media giant, which is surely preparing for attempts to regulate it by a Biden administration.

Biden told The New York Times in January that he wanted to revoke Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a part of US law that grants sweeping liability protections to tech companies for content posted on their platforms.

In that interview, Biden referred to Facebook and the spread of misinformation on the platform. "It should be revoked because [Facebook] is not merely an internet company," he said. "It is propagating falsehoods they know to be false."

Russo's tweets reinforce the sense that the Biden administration could make the next four years uncomfortable for Facebook.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

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