Earlier this week, Mozilla announced that it was pulling its Facebook ads in light of the Cambridge Analytica scandal and continued concerns over data security. Now Sonos has announced it will also be pulling ads, but not just from Facebook. For one week, starting on Monday, the company will pull all advertising from Facebook, Instagram, Google and Twitter and will donate the money it would have spent on ads to RightsCon -- an Access Now event that brings together tech companies and activists to discuss digital rights issues.
"The gesture we are making this week, while small, is meant to meaningfully support the growth of an ecosystem of groups working solely for the social good when it comes to tech," Sonos said in a statement. "We believe that our industry -- and society as a whole -- will be healthier if companies like Sonos and Facebook exist in an ecosystem that includes a vibrant activist community focused on advancing the social good." The company also said that it won't post on Facebook or Instagram next week.
In regards to why it won't be instituting a more long-term ad pull, Sonos said that social platforms can be an effective way to reach customers and share its mission. "Despite the flaws of these massive digital networks, we fundamentally believe in the power of technology to bring us together and to create deeper, shared experiences." It said, adding, "Now is the time to have the hard discussions and to support those who drive things forward in an effort to make us all better technologists and more educated consumers of technology."
"The gesture we are making this week, while small, is meant to meaningfully support the growth of an ecosystem of groups working solely for the social good when it comes to tech," Sonos said in a statement. "We believe that our industry -- and society as a whole -- will be healthier if companies like Sonos and Facebook exist in an ecosystem that includes a vibrant activist community focused on advancing the social good." The company also said that it won't post on Facebook or Instagram next week.
In regards to why it won't be instituting a more long-term ad pull, Sonos said that social platforms can be an effective way to reach customers and share its mission. "Despite the flaws of these massive digital networks, we fundamentally believe in the power of technology to bring us together and to create deeper, shared experiences." It said, adding, "Now is the time to have the hard discussions and to support those who drive things forward in an effort to make us all better technologists and more educated consumers of technology."