Meta is relocating its trust and safety, along with content moderation teams, from California to Texas. This move aligns with Meta's strategic shift towards emphasizing "free expression" and away from stringent content restrictions. Historically, the company has employed contractors in Texas for content moderation, and thousands of full-time employees work across various departments in the state.
The decision to base content review operations in Texas marks a significant change from CEO Mark Zuckerberg's 2016 mission to combat misinformation. Meta's recent cessation of its fact-checking program underscores this transformation. In 2022, the company laid off more than 220 workers in Texas amid substantial restructuring efforts. Moreover, the relocation of teams suggests a reallocation of resources rather than an introduction of new measures to address perceived biases.
Meta has outsourced substantial portions of its content moderation work to contractors in Texas over the years. Accenture, one of Meta’s primary partners, operates several major offices in the state. A former Facebook employee revealed that placing more personnel in Texas seems like a tactical move.
“They’ve always had people there,” said a former employee in the trust and safety division.
Mark Zuckerberg commented on the rationale behind the move, asserting that it will mitigate concerns about biased content censorship by employees.
“will help remove the concern that biased employees are overly censoring content,” stated Zuckerberg.
While moderators and fact-checkers serve distinct roles within Meta, both functions have experienced significant changes. Moderators primarily handle content review, while third-party entities previously conducted fact-checking. Meta’s decision to end its fact-checking program reflects a broader focus on allowing diverse expressions on its platforms. Former employees described the shift as a strategic pivot away from tackling misinformation.
“To me, what this inaugurates is an era of a lot of twisting in the wind,” remarked Willner, reflecting on the uncertainty surrounding Meta’s future direction.
In Austin, Meta has long maintained a workforce dedicated to trust and safety issues. However, recent developments suggest a consolidated presence of these teams in Texas, raising questions about the company's commitment to maintaining robust content oversight. Former employees expressed concerns about possible motivations behind the move.
“They may be moving more people there, but positioning it as though they’re doing something new to address liberal California bias is laughable at best,” commented another former employee from the trust and safety division.
In 2022, Meta witnessed sweeping changes as part of what Zuckerberg termed the "year of efficiency." Over 11,000 employees were laid off worldwide, reflecting a significant restructuring within the company. Despite these changes, Meta continues to leverage its partnerships with third-party companies like Accenture to support its operational needs in Texas.