NATIONWIDE — Amid unprecedented turmoil at the social media giant, Kairos and a broad coalition of more than 40 national and state-based organizations mobilizing across issues like: racial justice, labor, free speech and democracy protection, and tech accountability today launched the Facebook and Instagram Log Out — a three-day user strike to demand sweeping reforms in content moderation, privacy policies, and company leadership to strengthen user safety.
This cross movement coalition underscores how widespread the support for collective action against Facebook is and the need for comprehensive policy change within the company and across all of its platforms. The coalition, including leading national organizations including, NARAL Pro-Choice America, The Women’s March, United We Dream, and MoveOn are encouraging their members to log out of their Facebook and Instagram accounts. Broadway legend, and record-breaking singer and songwriter Carole King Tuesday announced she would take part in the Log Out, posting on Facebook and Instagram, “I’m logging out of #facebook & #instagram November 10th – 13th to let them know that they need us more than we need them.”
Ahead of the Log Out, Teen Vogue published an op-ed penned by Kairos Campaign Director, Jelani Drew-Davi, underscoring why users are coming together to send a message to the social media company, writing, “We make or break platforms like Instagram and Facebook, and, together, we can begin the process of reimagining what these spaces could look like and how they can run.”
Coalition Demands Sweeping Reforms
Juanita Monsalve, Senior Marketing and Creative Director, United We Dream, said:
“Social media platforms like Facebook have prioritized profit over the safety of its users, especially Black, brown and immigrant communities. Facebook has allowed racialized disinformation, from harmful narratives about immigrants, to COVID-19 disinformation to run rampant on its platform. The 1 million members of United We Dream have come to find community on UWD’s pages on platforms like Facebook. They come to find timely and important information about programs like DACA, or our continued fight for citizenship in Congress. We know all too well the importance of finding community online, which is why United We Dream is Logging Out. We are taking collective action, and using our people power to demand safer and better online spaces for our communities.”
Dina Montemarano, Research Director, NARAL Pro-Choice America, said:
“Facebook has shown time and again that it refuses to be transparent about the dangerous disinformation and extremism it allows to flourish on its platform. We must continue to hold Facebook accountable for the direct harm it has done to public health and to our democracy. This logout is just the first step in showing Facebook that its dangerous inaction can no longer go unchecked. Mark Zuckerberg has directly enabled anti-choice activists to continue spreading harmful disinformation about abortion care, abetting the movement in advancing its dangerous and unconstitutional attacks on reproductive freedom. He remains complicit, constantly deploying a double standard when it comes to disinformation shared by conservative voices. It is clear this company has no interest in making change for the sake of morality, so it’s time we show them they must make change or have it negatively impact their bottom line.”
Rishi Bharwani, Director of Partnerships and Policy, Accountable Tech, said:
“Facebook’s toxic business model relies on extracting as much of our personal data and attention as possible and selling advertisers access to it. By logging out, we can send a clear message that we will no longer stand for Facebook’s societal harms—from undermining democracy, to driving up rates of anxiety and depression among teens, to amplifying content that leads to white supremacist violence. Enough is enough.”
Alvina Yeh, Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance AFL-CIO, said:
“We deserve safe and secure channels of communication that do not target us with misinformation. For our immigrant communities, social media is a major platform to stay connected with loved ones across the world and a critical medium to spread news and information.”
Jessica Quiason, Deputy Research Director, Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE), said:
“For too long, Black, brown and Muslim communities have been targeted and criminalized because of lies spread on their platforms. Only together will we be able to stand up to Facebook and show them that our communities are worth more than their profits.”
Laura Li, Director of Organizing, 18 Million Rising, said:
“The violence our communities suffer because of Facebook’s exploitative business practices needs to end. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Facebook has allowed anti-Asian and COVID-19 disinformation to flourish so they can rake in billions while Asian Americans are scared to leave their homes. The rollback of measures leading up to the January 6th insurrection makes it even clearer Facebook only cares about satiating its greed and will always choose money over people’s safety. We deserve to feel safe in our online neighborhoods and this logout reminds Facebook that users make or break the platform.”
Daniel G. Newman, President, Decode Democracy, said:
“We’ve known for years that Facebook prioritizes profits above the health of its users and our democracy — and the recent news leaks have only made that more clear. Now is the time to collectively log-out from the platform to show Facebook it can no longer treat our children’s health and the integrity of our democracy as collateral damage.”
Tracy Rosenberg, Media Alliance and the Facebook Users Union, said:
“It’s way past time for Facebook users to use the power of their likes, clicks and attention to demand changes in how the platform does business. There’s no Facebook without us!”
Rose Lang-Maso, Campaign Manager, Free Press, said:
“Free Press supports the Facebook logout because it’s far past time to hold the platform accountable. We’ve known for years that Facebook has consistently put profits over people through their use of discriminatory algorithms — and the spread of disinformation and hate that results. While doing this, Facebook has made it all too clear that they have little regard for our privacy online or our safety — online or off. It’s time for us to fight back, and we can fight back, because Facebook is nothing without its users.”
Audria LB, North Carolina Black Leadership and Organizing Collective (NC BLOC), said:
“NC BLOC supports the Facebook Logout because we value Black autonomy. By refusing to address and limit disinformation and hate speech on their platform, Facebook has chosen white supremacy, anti-Blackness, and capitalism over the safety and wellbeing of its users.”
Bridget Todd, Communications Director, UltraViolet, said:
“UltraViolet is logging off of Facebook and Instagram because we are sick and tired of the rampant misogyny, hate, and white supremacy thriving on both platforms. From calls for violence against Black, Indigenous, and women of color to its role in inciting the January 6 Capitol Riots, Facebook clearly needs a wake up call to the harms it has caused throughout the U.S. and world. By participating in this user strike, we are showing our collective might and ringing the alarms. Facebook, it’s time to clean up your act or we will log off for good.”
Leaders from the organizations will host a series of events throughout the duration of the logout — including a letter writing campaign to members of Congress, an event on digital privacy, and a celebratory trivia night.
More details on the coalition’s demands — as well as a full list of coalition organizations — can be found on The Facebook Logout campaign website.
