Meta Investors Call for Accountability on Alleged Human Rights Violations 

Azzad Asset Management and 7amleh congratulate those Meta shareholders who voted in favor of Proposal 7 at the company’s annual general meeting held on May 27. The resolution, which called for enhanced human rights due diligence in conflict-affected areas, focused on respect for  Palestinian human rights, and the rights of other communities in high-risk zones.

Meta’s dual class share structure provides a disproportionate amount of votes per share to top level executives, making it impossible for any shareholder proposal to win without support from executives. The vote, however, was an important step pushing for greater accountability at Meta on human rights issues and increased visibility into corporate failures around content moderation and censorship of speech. 

Palestinian journalist Faten Elwan introduced the proposal at the meeting itself. Elwan shared her personal experience of being suspended from Instagram for sharing pressing news about Palestinian human rights violations.

On the same day of the company’s annual general meeting, a coalition of institutional investors representing $300 million in Meta shares requested via open letter an opportunity to engage on the firm’s failures in human rights due diligence.

Meta’s content moderation practices and policies have been found by respected international groups such as Amnesty International to have exacerbated mass violations of human rights in places like Myanmar and Tigray in recent years. Meanwhile, other organizations such as Human Rights Watch and 7amleh have documented mass censorship of Palestinian content and simultaneous proliferation of genocidal rhetoric being allowed to spread across Meta platforms. 

Under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Meta has an obligation to conduct heightened human rights due diligence in high-risk settings, and recent actions by the company indicate that those procedures are insufficient to prevent future harms. 

“Meta continues to operate under biased policies, which disproportionately harm Palestinians. Today, a Palestinian journalist might be suspended from their account for reporting on human rights violations; meanwhile, Israeli leaders are allowed to openly post genocidal rhetoric, and violent settler groups profit from Meta’s monetization program” said Nadim Nashif, Founder and Executive Director of 7amleh. 

“Investors understand the importance of increased due diligence for Big Tech in light of its outsized potential to spread misinformation and hate at the click of a button,” said Joshua Brockwell, Investment Communications Director at Azzad. “The shareholder proposal sends a strong message to Meta’s board of directors: Meta must not censor civil dialogue, nor should the company elevate and profit from hate."

In response to the shareholder proposal, Meta management drew attention to its current human rights due diligence framework, which the proposal’s supporters have deemed insufficient in considering Meta's recent approach to moderating content in conflict zones.