Meta & Children's Online SafetyChat: On the day a FB rep is pulled apart by US Senators about whether we care enough about children on our services, MZ is going to post about... surfboards?
Source PDF not yet released. Text is transcribed from the public filing.
Thread View
████ name redacted. Different bars may be the same person or different people.
quoted in an excerpt in the archive.
Tuesday 21 September 2021
15:55████"heads up, team - mark read the Ryan Mac NYT story, specifically the reference to how he posted a video this summer about riding an 'electric surfboard'. mark is eager to post the following: 'Look, it's one thing for journalists to make false claims about my work, but it's crossing a line to say I'm riding an electric surfboard when it's clearly a hydrofoil and I'm pumping that thing with my legs.'"
15:55████"this is clearly an offshoot of the conversation on Friday. I don't think we have much time to change his mind here, so need to get back to him quickly"
15:56████"at a minimum, I'd have him remove the mention of 'journalists' so it reads: 'Look, it's one thing to make false claims about my work, but it's crossing a line to say I'm riding an electric surfboard when it's clearly a hydrofoil and I'm pumping that thing with my legs.'"
15:56████"we've flagged that it'll feed into Ryan's (huge) ego, so posting after he's done with meetings today would be best."
15:56Tucker Swayze Bounds[link]
15:57Tucker Swayze Bounds"This is a tweet storm that is going live from Joe Osbourne in moments"
15:57████"we correct a large number of stories that suggest it's an electric surfboard"
15:58Tucker Swayze Bounds"I would not have Mark post"
15:58████"How come. We'll need a very strong reason to walk him back"
15:59Tucker Swayze Bounds"I'll call you?"
16:00████shared: sticker.png
16:04John Edwards Pinette"I don't think Mark posting something whimsical on the surf board is such a bad idea."
16:05John Edwards Pinette"we're being really firm with Joe -- a little bit of humor on his side ain't all bad."
16:05John Edwards Pinette"I know it will draw attention to the story. But it also tells the NYT they ought to report fact."
16:06John Edwards Pinette"And I'm really eager to just do whatever he wants at this point. My spine has been surgically removed."
16:06Tucker Swayze Bounds"At the very least, we should just make sure he's seen the other tweets so he can make the assessment of whether to do... at the end of the day, his posting won't be the end of the world. And it is factual"
16:06████"Just off with Tucker, we'll make sure that he sees Joe's tweetstorm"
16:06████"Tuc - Just send me the link"
16:06John Edwards Pinette"Tucker - we're rescheduling at 5 for the Bertie/John confab."
16:07████"He's in meetings until 5pm"
16:07Tucker Swayze Bounds"I'll share here"
16:08████"And I'm LOVING Joe's tweets"
16:08████"He's going now"
16:10████"I would just have mark remove the mention of 'journalists' since it's sort of needlessly flagrant and he can say the same thing without it. otherwise, I agree that it's not the worst thing if he posts this..."
16:11Nick Clegg"Am I missing something here? On the day a [PP] rep is pulled apart by US senators on whether we care enough about children on our services, MZ is going to post about.... surfboards? Maybe I've lost my humor about this whole thing, but I really think this would seem to any casual observer to be pretty tone deaf given the gravity of the things we're being accused of."
16:11Nick Clegg[link]
16:14Nick Clegg"And why bother giving Ryan Mac any attention -- he's really the worst of the worst and will love that he has provoked MZ into posting. Far from deflating/undermining Mac, it builds him up."
16:15Tucker Swayze Bounds"Strong reasons not to post"
16:19████"Nick Clegg OK if I flag that with him (on today's hearings) and say that you're concerned about that? I've already flagged Ryan's inflated ego with him"
16:20Tucker Swayze Bounds[link]
16:20Tucker Swayze Bounds"chaser:"
16:20Tucker Swayze Bounds[link]
16:23Nick Clegg"the IG/teens story is huge, is cutting through and will lead to countless testimonies in the weeks/months ahead. If I was him, I wouldn't want to be asked 'while your company was being accused of aiding and abetting teenage suicide why was your only public pronouncement a post about surfing?' easiest just to show him the clip of Ted Cruz so he understands the context - and then he can decide. Probably"
16:24████"Will do"
16:28████"OK - message sent (and Ted clip) - will let you know what he comes back with"
16:34████"His response: 'I'm still going to post and attach that screenshot I sent you.'"
16:35████"he said he'd do it later"
16:45John Edwards Pinette"since last Tuesday, Mark has fenced, launched Portals, posted Beast pix. So the tone isn't discordant with what's gone before. But I didn't live through Ted Cruz today."
16:46John Edwards Pinette"We have a lot of other stuff out there... if you think he should go to earth for a while, we should give him that steer."
16:51Nick Clegg"Fair enough -- I guess if it's consistent with stuff he's been doing every day I might be overreacting. I just worry that he and SS are under estimating how much this IG/kids thing will continue to hit us"
16:52John Edwards Pinette"YES -- today was our first barometer reading. Heavy storms ahead."
16:58████"[We] sent [him] the above and he's still going forward. I just think that's what we keep doing. Keep sharing the context so they get this thing"
18:22████[link to facebook.com/zuck/posts/...]
18:22████"He posted and then commented on a few posts"
19:11████"He's only just stopped commenting. It's dinner time thank god. Mostly lighthearted. He made a comment on defamation that I've flagged with when I saw it."
19:13████"Nick Clegg, Tucker and I will send Mark and Sheryl a coverage recap of today's hearings in the morning. Coverage is light at the moment, so I hope there will be more useful analysis in the morning. We'll keep making sure they see the tone so they hopefully internalize things."
19:14Nick Clegg"honestly, you and Dave deserve a medal for your patience!"
19:16Nick Clegg"Thx -- but TBH this isn't so much a daily comms coverage issue, it's more that the WSJ/IG story has dramatically consolidated a wider narrative (that we're bad for kids) which had been brewing for some time. It now makes regulation -- first in the UK, EU and then elsewhere -- certain and in my view makes launching IG Kids nigh impossible. I've told MZ and SS this already."
19:17████"Exactly."
We have a lot of other stuff out there ... if you think he should go to earth for a while, we should give him that steer.
16:51Nick CleggFair enough - I guess if it's consistent with stuff he's been doing every day I might be overreacting. I just worry that he and SS are under estimating how much this IG/kids thing will continue to hit us
16:52John Edwards PinetteYES -- today was our first barometer reading. Heavy storms ahead.
16:58████I shared the above and he's still going forward. I just think that's what we keep doing. Keep sharing the context so they get this thing
18:22████https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10113917270874401
18:22████He posted and then commented on a few posts
19:11████He's only just stopped commenting. It's dinner time thank god. Mostly lighthearted. He made a comment on defamation that I've flagged with ████ when I saw it.
19:13████Nick Clegg Tucker and I will send Mark and Sheryl a coverage recap of today's hearings in the morning. Coverage is light at the moment, so I hope there will be more useful analysis in the morning. We'll keep making sure they see the tone so they hopefully internalize things.
19:14Nick Clegghonestly, you and Dave deserve a medal for your patience!
19:16Nick CleggThx - but TBH this isn't so much a daily comms coverage issue, it's more that the WSJ/IG story has dramatically consolidated a wider narrative (that we're bad for kids) which had been brewing for some time. It now makes regulation - first in the UK, EU and then elsewhere - certain, and in my view makes launching IG Kids nigh impossible. I've told MZ and SS this already.
19:17████Exactly.