May 1, 2023
To: Meta Human Rights Team
Re: Meta's efforts in preparation for the upcoming election in Turkey
Dear Meta Human Rights Team:
We hope you’re well. We are writing from Human Rights Watch and ARTICLE 19 to inquire about Meta’s operations related to the 2023 Turkish elections.
We anticipate releasing our new publication about Turkey’s online environment in the run-up to the elections, including efforts by social media platforms and messaging services to prepare for the elections. This includes the role of Meta in various issues related to elections and Meta’s platforms and messaging services.
In the interest of thorough and objective reporting, we want to give you the opportunity to respond to the following questions by 5 p.m. EST on May 4, 2023 so that we can incorporate Meta’s response and perspectives.
- Has Meta shared comprehensive plans or issued a detailed report on its efforts to prepare for Turkey’s upcoming election, beyond the updates in its April 5, 2023 Newsroom post?
- Did Meta conduct a human rights impact assessment ahead of the elections? If so, we would like to request a copy of this assessment or, in the alternative, a summary of its substantive findings.
- How many Meta staff and contractors are allocated to the Türkiye Elections Operations Center? When was the Center created and how long will it be in place? How can individuals and organizations in Turkey get in touch with the Center to raise concerns on Meta’s platforms and apps around the elections?
- Generally, how many content moderators work on Turkey? How many are native in Turkish and in other languages spoken widely by minorities in Turkey (please provide a breakdown based on individual languages)? How many human rights policy experts are supporting users of Meta’s platforms and services in Turkey? How does Meta ensure the political independence of staff and contractors working on Turkey?
- How will Meta respond to threats of throttling and other sanctions introduced by the most recent legislative changes when responding to content takedown and user data access requests? Does Meta have a contingency plan in the event of throttling during the election period?
- Does Meta have in place plans to address the potential of multiple and conflicting announcements of the outcome of the vote and allegations of fraud?
- Is Meta in touch with independent election monitoring groups like Oy ve Otesi (Vote and Beyond)?
- Is there any additional information you can share about Meta’s efforts to address inauthentic coordinated behavior during this election period?
- Has Meta complied with the October 2022 requirement to establish a local subsidiary of your global company?
- Has Meta received any notification from BTK regarding WhatsApp’s liabilities under the October 2022 law?
- How will Meta respond and what measures does it have in place should WhatsApp be required under the October 2022 law to comply with court orders to listen to, record, store, intercept or track communications?
- Could you please elaborate on Meta's escalation system pertaining to election-related issues? How does the company plan to handle potential problems that may arise during the election period?
Thanks in advance for your attention to our questions and feel free to provide any other information you deem relevant.
Sincerely,
Barbora Bukovská, Senior Director for Law and Policy, ARTICLE 19
Frederike Kaltheuner, Director for Technology and Human Rights, Human Rights Watch
