Facebook's Sweden chief Sam Rihani now comments on the criticism highlighted by the growing number of companies boycotting the social media platform as an advertising forum. He does not want to answer any questions about the situation in Sweden, citing Facebook's actions are global, but writes in an e-mail to TT that "we know we have more work to do regarding negative content".

"We will probably never end up in a position where we do not have to see that kind of content altogether," he writes.

Must find balance

Facebook has rules that prohibit anyone from expressing disdain for others based on their ethnicity, origin or religious affiliation.

“There is no incentive for us to be there. On the contrary. That is why we have been working with authorities, partners, experts and our advertisers for many years to constantly develop the regulations to find the right balance between freedom of expression and security, ”Rihani writes.

Swedish companies boycott

International big companies and several Swedish companies have recently chosen to boycott Facebook as a protest against hateful and racist content on the platform. These include Starbucks, Adidas, Coca-Cola and Unilever as well as Swedish players such as SJ, Oatly and Essity.

“These are difficult issues where everyone has a common interest in making it as good as possible. Therefore, we do not think that a boycott is the right way forward, even though we obviously respect every advertiser's decision on the issue, ”writes Sam Rihani.