US diplomat/Facebook Stockholder James Patterson Supports Israel's 'Facebook Law'

                                         US diplomat and Facebook Stockholder James Patterson 

James E. Patterson

Life Member American Foreign Service Association

Washington DC 

January 8, 2017

Honorable MK Gilad Erdan, Internal Security Minister

Israeli Knesset By Email

Dear Minister Erdan,

As a Facebook stockholder, I write in support of your bill on removal of criminal content from Internet sources, including Social Media Providers. For the past three years, I have been vocal to CEO Mark Zucherberg about not allowing this content on our platform. I do not believe Facebook executives lack the ability to monitor and timely remove for this content.

At the Facebook annual meeting two years ago, Zucherberg and the Facebook board promised me the corporation would not allow criminal content that could incite individuals to acts of violence and acts intended to economically or politically destabilize Israel such as the BDS propaganda. There is a fine line between the BDS propaganda and criminal content intended to incite people to violence.

I have asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which scrutinizes corporate filings by publicly traded U.S. companies, to review Facebook’s public filings to ensure they are complying with all U.S. and applicable international laws. If Facebook allows such criminal content after assuring stockholders they would not, the U.S. can act to enforce compliance on Mark Zucherberg.

Zucherberg, according to former employees, actively censors political views with which he disagrees. If he can do this, then he can keep criminal content and economically and politically destabilizing propaganda off Facebook. I intend to keep him to his promise to keep this content away from unstable individuals.        

   

I wish you success in enacting this important anti-terrorism legislation and it is my hope U.S. lawmakers will enact a similar law.

Sincerely,

James Patterson 

Member California State Society

Member America Israel Public Affairs Committee

Friend Israeli Defense Forces

Sunday 8 January 2017

פנייתך התקבלה.

בברכה,

לשכת השר לביטחון הפנים, ח"כ גלעד ארדן

English

Your request was accepted.

Best regards,

Minister of Public Security Bureau, MK Gilad Erdan