Zuckerberg gets a 'frenemy' request after 'Napalm Girl' flap
A Norwegian newspaper editor wants answers on censorship from Facebook's founder himself.
Espen Egil Hansen, editor in chief of Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, is calling out Mark Zuckerberg on his silence.
Mark Zuckerberg isn't going to like this notification.
Ten days after publicly criticizing Facebook's CEO, Norwegian newspaper editor Espen Egil Hansen is challenging Zuckerberg again. This time, he calls Facebook a "Frenemy of the People" in an op-ed for The Guardian on Tuesday.
Hansen's public feud with Facebook started September 9 after the site blocked images of the iconic "Napalm Girl" Vietnam War photo, citing the picture's nudity. Facebook reversed its decision after public backlash.
Facebook has issued press statements about the censorship incident. But Hansen, who is editor in chief of Aftenposten, is calling out Zuckerberg personally for remaining silent on the issue and failing to take responsibility for decisions that affect the company's 1.7 billion active users.
"Zuckerberg is de facto the most powerful editor-in-chief on the globe," Hansen said in his op-ed. "His influence is greater than all the Rupert Murdochs of this world could dream about."
Facebook did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment.
The newspaper editor also criticized Facebook's curation algorithm for feeding users content they may favor while hiding what they may not like. Hansen described that as "convenient when you are watching Netflix" but damaging to a democracy.
In contrast to Hansen's criticisms of Zuckerberg as an editor, the Facebook CEO has argued the website is not a media provider. During a visit to Rome last month, Zuckerberg declared that Facebook is "a tech company, not a media company."