Lush has announced it is closing its accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok until the social media sites do a better job of protecting users from harmful content. The campaigning beauty retailer said it had “had enough” after the allegations of the Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who claims the company puts profit ahead of the public good. The Lush chief digital officer, Jack Constantine, said the company would not ask customers to “meet us down a dark and dangerous alleyway”, adding that some social media platforms were “beginning to feel like places no one should be encouraged to go … Something has to change.” Constantine said the company spent a lot of time inventing products to help people to unwind and look after themselves. Social media platforms had become the antithesis of this, he argued, with algorithms designed to “keep people scrolling and stop them from switching off and relaxing”. As anyone who has tried knows, giving up social media is not easy. This holds true for Lush too, as this is the second time the company, which has more than 400 stores in 48 countries, has said it is quitting the sites, having previously announced the step in 2019. The company blamed “Fomo” (fear of missing out) for the relapse. But by quitting social media Lush is also switching off a channel for criticism of the company, something for which it may be grateful. The retailer said it planned to find better channels of communication elsewhere, as well as using tried and tested routes. For the time being it will continue to have a presence on Twitter and YouTube.
