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NY Comptroller: Social Media Must Curb Harassment, Fake News

NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli
WAMC Photo by Dave Lucas
NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli

New York's top financial official is warning Facebook, Google and Twitter that they must do more to protect users from fake news, sexual harassment and abuse on their social media platforms.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli called on the companies to publicly report on what steps they're taking to address the problems. He says that if the companies don't act swiftly, they're putting themselves at risk of lawsuits, financial losses and reputational damage.

DiNapoli, who oversees New York state's nearly $207 billion public pension system, says the pension fund will vote against the re-election of several board members for Twitter, Facebook and Google's parent company Alphabet, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The pension fund has $1.1 billion in Facebook shares, $44 million worth of shares in Twitter, and $1.8 billion in Alphabet shares.

© 2018 AP

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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