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Facebook Australia

OVERALL

Owned
USA
Rating
Criticisms

Social media

Company Ownership

Facebook Australia Pty Ltd   AUS     website      facebook   
  Facebook Inc   
   owns 100% of Facebook Australia Pty Ltd  
USA     website   email   facebook   twitter

Social media

Online social networking service and website founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and fellow Harvard students. It had 2.3 billion monthly active users at end of 2018. Acquired Instagram in 2013 and WhatsApp and Oculus in 2014.

> About the Ratings

Company Assessment

PRAISE CRITICISM INFORMATION
Facebook Australia Pty Ltd
Business Ethics Political donations
According to the democracyforsale.net website, this company donated $16,500 to Australia's major political parties between 2012 and 2018, as disclosed to the Australian Electoral Commision (AEC).
Source: Democracy For Sale (2018)
Business Ethics Tax avoidance
This company was granted a special exemption from being 'large' by ASIC resulting in no need to file annual financial reports from 2009-2013 and therefore paying no tax in Australia.
Source: news article (2014)
Environment CitySwitch signatory
This company is a signatory to CitySwitch Green Office, a national tenant energy efficiency program run in partnership between business and local government. The program works with office tenants to improve their energy efficiency, thereby reducing carbon pollution.
Source: CitySwitch (2018)
Facebook Inc
Environment A rating at ClickClean.org
Greenpeace's 2017 report 'Clicking Clean' looks at the energy footprints of large data centre operators and popular websites and applications, and calls on these companies to power their data centres on renewable energy. Companies are graded (A,B,C,D,F) on their commitment to and procurement of renewable energy, as well as energy efficiency, transparency and advocacy. This company's final grade was A.
Source: Greenpeace (2017)
Business Ethics 75.5% at JUST Capital
JUST Capital polls Americans every year to identify the issues that matter most in defining just business behaviour. For their 2021 rankings the public identified 19 issues, which are organised under the headings Workers, Communities, Customers, Shareholders and Environment. JUST Capital then define metrics that map to those issues and track and analyse the largest, publicly traded U.S. companies. This analysis powers their rankings, in which this company ranked 21th of 928 companies, and 2nd of 14 Internet companies.
Source: JUST Capital (2020)
Social 100% on Corporate Equality Index
This company is listed as having best practice on a report card on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality in corporate America.
Source: Human Rights Campaign (2020)
Environment Supply chain practices in China
This company received a score of 1.6/100 (retrieved 10-Oct-2020) in the Corporate Information Transparency Index (CITI), a system for evaluating supply chain practices in China, particularly in regards to environmental management and water pollution. Scores are calculated using government compliance data, online monitoring data, and third-party environmental audits, as well as trends in the environmental performance of factories in the company's supply chains.
Source: IPE (2020)
Social Involvement with Burma
This company appears on Burma Campaign UK's 'Dirty List' of companies assisting the Burmese military to continue to commit human rights violations and environmental destruction. Facebook has consistently allowed its platform to be used to incite hatred and violence of minorities in Burma, in particular the Rohingya Muslim minority and Muslims in general. Numerous complaints were ignored by the company. Facebook have been severely criticised by civil society in Burma, and by the United Nations, for their lack of action in addressing hate speech.
Source: Burma Campaign UK (2019)
Social $5bn fine for privacy breaches
In 2019 Facebook agreed to pay a record-breaking $5 billion fine to settle a U.S. Federal Trade Commission probe into its privacy practices. The deal has been widely criticised as not going far enough. $5 billion is about one months revenue for Facebook.
Source: news article (2019)
Social Forced labour in China
The Chinese government has facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country. Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 83 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors, including brands owned by this company. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute's 2020 report estimates (somewhat conservatively) that more than 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of Xinjiang to work in factories across China between 2017 and 2019, and some of them were sent directly from detention camps.
Source: ASPI (2020)
Business Ethics 23.1% in Newsweek Green Ranking 2017
This company received a score of 23.1/100 in the Newsweek Green Ranking 2017, which ranks the world's largest publicly traded companies on eight indicators covering energy, greenhouse gases, water, waste, fines and penalties, linking executive pay to sustainability targets, board-level committee oversight of environmental issues and third-party audits. Ranking methodology by Corporate Knights and HIP Investor.
Source: Newsweek (2017)
Business Ethics 15/100 S&P Global ESG Score
This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 15/100 in the Interactive Media Services & Home Entertainment category of the 2019 SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices. The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
Source: S&P Global (2019)
Business Ethics CEO Pay Ratio of 94:1
In 2019 the median pay for a worker at this company was US$247,883. The CEO was paid 94 times this amount. Exorbitant CEO pay is a major contributor to rising inequality. CEOs are getting more because of their power to set pay, not because they are increasing productivity or possess specific, high-demand skills. The economy would suffer no harm if CEOs were paid less (or taxed more). In contrast, the CEO-to-typical-worker compensation ratio was 20-to-1 in 1965 and 58-to-1 in 1989. A lower pay ratio could indicate a company is dedicated to creating high-wage jobs and investing in their employees for the company's long-term health.
Source: AFL-CIO (2020)
Environment Climate action commitments
As listed on the We Mean Business website, this company has committed to the following climate action initiatives: commit to 100% renewable power.
Source: We Mean Business (2017)
Business Ethics Responsible Minerals Initiative member
This company is a member of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (formerly the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative), which helps companies address conflict minerals issues in their supply chains. The RMI provides information on conflict-free smelters and refiners, common tools to gather sourcing information, and forums for exchanging best practices on addressing conflict minerals. Membership is open to companies that use or transact in tantalum, tin, tungsten or gold (3TG). Founded in 2008 by members of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative.
Source: RMI (2019)
Social Modern Slavery statement
California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.
Source: Modern Slavery Registry (2017)
Information Criticism of Facebook - Wikipedia
Facebook has received criticism on a wide range of issues, including its treatment of its users, online privacy, child safety, hate speech, and the inability to terminate accounts without first manually deleting the content.
Source: Wikipedia (2014)
Information OpenSecrets.org profile
OpenSecrets.org tracks the influence of money on U.S. politics, and how that money affects policy and citizens' lives. Follow link to see this company's record of political donations, lobbying, outside spending and more.
Source: Open Secrets (2014)

> About the Icons

Company Details

Type Wholly-owned subsidiary
Revenue $60 million in 2013

Contact Details

Address 88 Phillip St, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Phone 02 9328 5661
Website www.facebook.com.au

Products / Brands

Facebook Australia
Facebook Social Media
Facebook Messenger Messaging
Instagram Social Media
Instagram Messaging
Oculus VR Headsets
WhatsApp Messaging


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