“At Facebook, our role is to make sure there
is a level playing field, not to be a political
participant ourselves,” Clegg said, according to
a transcript Facebook posted on its website of
his speech at the Atlantic Festival in Washington
on Tuesday.
Twitter also has a newsworthiness exemption in
its policy that adds warning labels to politicians’
tweets if they violate the service’s rules but
involve matters of public interest. Before the
policy was enacted in June, Twitter exempted
prominent leaders from many of its rules,
contending that publishing their controversial
tweets helps hold them accountable and
encourages discussion.
Critics say treating politicians’ speech differently
gives them a free pass to spread hate, abuse
and misinformation.