Harvard Professor and 1st Amendment Free Speech Expert Alan Dershowitz has gone public with his support of companies who choose not to advertise with Facebook if their ads appear next to Anti-Semitic hate content including Facebook Holocaust Denial Groups.  Here is what he had to say in response to the decision of Dominos Pizza to insist that Facebook ensure that their ads not appear next to any Anti-Semitic content or face loss of the account:

“Freedom of speech and association certainly includes the right not be associated in any way with antiSemitic hate speech. I applaud advertisers who exercise their rights by refusing to advertise in proximity to Holocaust deniers”

QUESTION #1

If YOU BECAME AWARE THAT A FACEBOOK EMPLOYEE WAS MAINTAINING A PERSONAL BLOG ADVOCATING HOLOCAUST DENIAL, WHAT WOULD YOUR RESPONSE BE, IF ANY?

QUESTION# 2 (ADDED JUNE 9, 1:55 PM)

IF YOU EXTENDED AN OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT AND SUBSEQUENTLY DISCOVERED THE INDIVIDUAL RAN A HOLOCAUST DENIAL WEB SITE, WOULD YOU STILL MAKE THE HIRE?

President Barack Obama recently spoke at a Holocaust Remembrance Day event. The event was put on by the National Holocaust Memorial Museum. He stated that he was committed to battling those who deny the atrocities of World War II.

“To this day, there are those who insist the Holocaust never happened, who perpetrate every form of intolerance,… “We have an opportunity as well as an obligation to confront these scourges… That is my commitment as president.”

The ugly face of Holocaust Denial is still smiling across the globe over 63 years after the last concentration camp was liberated at the end of World War II. It has become especially virulent in the area of social media where anonymity protects deniers like a white sheet.

Facebook is a prime example. The following groups promoting Holocaust Denial are currently active on Facebook (as of the writing of this article).

“Based on the facts….There was no Holocaust”
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2452587161

“Holocaust: A series of Lies”
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=80565100143

“Holocaust is a Holohoax”
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18701411294

“Holohoax”
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9371162562

“Holocaust is a Myth”
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15631489021

Holocaust Denial is not against the law in the United States. It is also important to note that there is no such thing as a 1st Amendment private right of free speech in the United States. The belief that the 1st amendment protects speech in the private social media arena or at your place of employment is a common misconception. The 1st Amendment only applies where there is federal government or state action.(there are situations in which the government can regulate speech if a compelling interest is shown.) Private companies such as Facebook are free to regulate speech however they see fit.

How do private social media/networking companies such as Facebook regulate various types of speech within their vast, relatively unguarded international borders? What types of speech do they regulate? As we traverse the social media universe, stopping at blogs and popular social media sites such as MySpace, Digg, Facebook and YouTube we are bombarded with unpopular opinions. Opinions on subjects such as the Holocaust that fly in the face of all accepted historical research. Should we care? Facebook certainly has the right to allow diverse points of view on politically and historically sensitive issues. Facebook also has Terms Of Service(TOS) in place that dictate the limitations on such content. Facebook’s TOS contains the following limitation on the types of content that may not be posted on its site:

“upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make available content that would constitute, encourage or provide instructions for a criminal offense, violate the rights of any party, or that would otherwise create liability or violate any local, state, national or international law.”

This is an important Term Of Service as it relates to Holocaust Denial because Holocaust Denial does not enjoy the same protection in other countries that it does in the United States. The advocation of Holocaust Denial is a crime in the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Israel, Slovakia and Switzerland.

Do the existence of Facebook groups that advocate beliefs that are crimes in other countries violate Facebook TOS? Seems to be a straightforward question that Facebook representatives are capable of answering. Here is the argument for removal of Holocaust Denial groups:

Holocaust Denial is a crime in countries in which Facebook as an active presence. Germany is an example. Facebook in fact, has an independent presence/platform in Germany. Facebook TOS would seem to prohibit content that violate the laws of the countries in which Facebook has a presence. There are some simple questions Facebook could answer to address this issue.

Why does Facebook allow groups that promote Holocaust Denial?

Does the Facebook TOS referenced above apply to Holocaust Denial groups? Why or why not?

I recently sent Facebook the following email:

Alex:

The article I am writing is regarding Facebook TOS and Facebook Groups that support Holocaust Denial. You may or may not know that Holocaust Denial is a crime in many European countries including countries where Facebook seeks to establish a presence such as Germany. Facebook TOS specifically prohibit such groups from:

“upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make available content that would constitute, encourage or provide instructions for a criminal offense, violate the rights of any party, or that would otherwise create liability or violate any local, state, national or international law.”

I am specifically referring to the following Facebook Groups:

Based on the facts….There was no Holocaust
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2452587161

Holocaust: A series of Lies
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=80565100143

Holocaust is a Holohoax
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18701411294

Holohoax
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9371162562

Holocaust is a Myth
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15631489021

Is there anyone at Facebook I can ask for a comment on why these groups are permitted and/or do not violate Facebook TOS before I write the article?

Sincerely,

Brian Cuban

To date I have received no response to my email from anyone at Facebook. No action of any kind has been taken even if that action would be to simply explain the Facebook TOS to me and how it applies to such groups. There appears to be a humorous irony in Facebook’s discretionary enforcement of its TOS. Upload a copyrighted video. Remove it or you are gone. Post someone’s Facebook profile on a blog. You are gone. Deny the Holocaust. Have a field day. It reminds me of a quote that is often seen in the context of the Holocaust:

All that’s necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing”

To Facebook: Thank you for doing nothing.

 A report from the U.S. State Department details “an upsurge” across the world of anti-Semitism — hostility and discrimination toward Jewish people.    This report was presented to Congress  was dedicated to the memory of  U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, a survivor of the Holocaust, the extermination of 6 million Jews during World War I   Congressman Lantos was the only Holocaust Survivor ever to serve in Congress.  Congressman Lantos passed away in February 2008.The report documents various types of anti-Semitic behavior and Holocaust denial activities worldwide and goes on to state ”

Traditional forms of anti-Semitism persist and can be found across the globe. Classic anti-Semitic creeds, such as ‘The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion’ and ‘Mein Kampf’ remain commonplace.”

Being the grandchild of “Fiddler on the Roof” descent (Russian Jews forced from their villages in Russian Pogroms), I am certainly familiar with true anti-Semitic behavior and simply anti-Semitic ignorance and stereotypes. (I separate the two as one is the product of simple ignorance and the other is the product of hate.  I would have to say that the instances of my exposure to true “hate behavior” related to being Jewish has few and far between.(that I am aware of)  I have not found Dallas, Texas to be a hotbed of anti-Semitic thought processes but I have experienced it.   Because my last name does not have a stereotypical Jewish sound and I don’t have a stereotypical Jewish look as non-Jews define that, I am often privy to a bevy of ignorant anti-Semitic rhetoric. Jewish Stereotypes are rooted deep in world history. We all have long noses, are politically left and control all of Hollywood and major financial institutions and will try to “Jew you down” in any bargaining situation..  I have heard it from people I knew both in a personal and business context who had no idea I was Jewish because I did not “look the look”…. (I have actually had this said to me).  I have no doubt that for every time I am on the receiving end of such remarks there are 10 others made behind my back…….

The national poll of 1,000 American adults conducted April 26 through May 6, 2002 found that 17% of Americans – or about 35 million adults.

This means that in general (very general) about 2 out of every 10 people I know thinks less of me to some degree because I am Jewish.  I know a lot of people…….

I guess the whole point of this is that I have a perception of anti-Semitism in the Middle East and other places worldwide but I have absolutely no conception of the state of anti-Semitism in my own country.   I have lost touch with or maybe ever even developed a concept of what anti-Semitism means to personally to me as it exists within my sphere of existence.