Online neighbors forum alters rules to stop racial profiling
Source: Associated Press
May 12, 6:05 PM EDT
Online neighbors forum alters rules to stop racial profiling
By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ and KRISTIN J. BENDER
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Nextdoor.com., a forum meant to let neighbors share recommendations on plumbers or ask for help finding missing dogs, is struggling with claims that people are using it to racially profile those they find suspicious.
Some residents in racially diverse Oakland, California, say people were posting warnings about minorities, flagging black men walking by too slowly, for example.
In an effort to remedy that, the company will no longer allow immediate postings on its crime and safety section, said Nirav Tolia, chief executive of the San Francisco-based company. It will require people reporting a crime or warning about a suspicious person to fill out several forms before their post is published.
"If you make it really easy to post anything, people don't have to think," Tolia said. "But if you insert these decision points, it forces them to think about what they are doing."
Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_NEIGHBORHOOD_WEBSITE_RACIAL_PROFILING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-05-12-18-05-05
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