Several US firms have joined a call by activists to halt ad spending on Facebook over concerns the leading social network has fallen short in efforts to crack down on hate speech and incitements to violence.

The sporting goods maker Patagonia added its name to the list Sunday, joining rivals North Face and REI and the freelance staffing agency Upwork.

Patagonia said on Twitter it was joining the "Stop the Hate for Profit" initiative unveiled by civil rights activists last week.

"Patagonia is proud to join the Stop Hate for Profit campaign," the California firm said.

"We will pull all ads on Facebook and Instagram, effective immediately, through at least the end of July, pending meaningful action from the social media giant."

North Face, also based in California, was the first to join the campaign on Friday, tweeting in response to a boycott call: "We're in. We're Out," adding later: "This includes all Facebook owned properties."

The #StopHateForProfit appeal was supported by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, ColorOfChange, FreePress and the activist group Sleeping Giants.

The campaign comes as the social media giant faces growing pressure over its hands-off approach to misinformation and inflammatory posts, including from US President Donald Trump.

"It is clear that Facebook and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, are no longer simply negligent, but in fact, complacent in the spread of misinformation, despite the irreversible damage to our democracy," the NAACP said in a tweet.

The coalition criticized Zuckerberg's decision to not moderate the US president -- only a day after the CEO again defended his decision not to limit Trump's often controversial, incendiary and inaccurate posts.

Upwork said it was "hitting pause on hate with no Facebook advertising in July."

REI also joined over the weekend stating: "For 82 years, we have put people over profits. We're pulling all Facebook/Instagram advertising for the month of July."

Facebook vice president Carolyn Everson said in a statement: "We deeply respect any brand's decision, and remain focused on the important work of removing hate speech and providing critical voting information. Our conversations with marketers and civil rights organizations are about how, together, we can be a force for good."

The social network last week said it removed ads by Trump's re-election campaign that contained a symbol used in Nazi Germany for political prisoners, a move welcomed by rights activists.

Google ad revenues to dip as market becomes 'triopoly': tracker
Washington (AFP) June 22, 2020 - Google is expected to see its first decline in US ad revenues this year as the coronavirus pandemic hits travel advertising, a market tracker said Monday.

New research by eMarketer indicates Google will still be leading digital advertising but with a smaller share as the market evolves into a "triopoly" with Facebook and Amazon.

Google's net US digital ad revenues will drop 5.3 percent to $39.58 billion to bring its market share down to 29.4 percent, according to the eMarketer forecast which was sharply revised due to the pandemic.

Google's decline is "primarily because of a sharp pullback in travel advertiser spending, which in the past has been heavily concentrated on Google's search ad products," said eMarketer analyst Nicole Perrin.

"Travel has been the hardest-hit industry during the pandemic, with the most extreme spending declines of any industry. E-commerce-related ad spending has also been dampened to some extent: Amazon reportedly pulled its ads from Google search earlier this year as it struggled to meet customer demand for its e-commerce services."

A big part of the decline will come from "search advertising," or paid messages deployed by Google when a user enters a search query.

Search ad revenue, in which travel is a major component, is expected to drop by 7.2 percent in the US, eMarketer said.

Facebook is expected to see growth in its US ad revenues of nearly five percent to $31.43 billion, driven by Instagram, according to the report. That would give Mark Zuckerberg's firm a 23.4 percent market share.

Amazon, meanwhile, is extending its strong growth in online advertising with an expected 23.5 percent rise to $12.75 billion, putting its market share at 9.5 percent, eMarketer said.

Until recently, analysts had described the digital ad market as a duopoly dominated by Google and Facebook, but Amazon has been rising quickly.

Google has been growing at a slower rate than the overall digital ad market since 2016, " so this year will continue a trend of Google losing digital ad market share in the US," Perrin said.

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US senators unveil bill to limit Big Tech legal protections
Washington (AFP) June 17, 2020
Four Republican senators introduced a bill Wednesday aimed at limiting legal protections of Big Tech platforms if they "selectively" suppress certain content, stepping up a political battle with social media. Senator Josh Hawley said his measure, if enacted, "gives users the right to sue if the big platforms enforce their terms unfairly or unequally." The bill comes weeks after President Donald Trump accused social platforms of suppressing conservative political voices and signed an executive or ... read more