The social media giant is enhancing its procedures around toxic content and striving for clearer guidelines globally.
Recently, Facebook updated its Community Standards, the rules that govern what content can be posted by its 2.2 billion users worldwide. These updated guidelines provide more detailed insights into how Facebook manages offensive material. For instance, Facebook now defines “mass murder” as an incident causing four or more deaths. The platform also explicitly prohibits messages that threaten death, serious injury, or physical harm, or falsely claim victimization after a violent event.
Moreover, Facebook has revised its appeals process. Users can now challenge the removal of individual pieces of content, not just profiles, Pages, or Groups. This move towards transparency was emphasized by Monika Bickert, Vice President of Product Policy and Counterterrorism at a recent press briefing in Facebook’s Menlo Park, California headquarters. Bickert highlighted that these standards will evolve with the growing community.
Although recent controversies, such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal, have scrutinized Facebook’s policies, these transparency efforts were not directly prompted by those incidents. Bickert clarified, “We’ve been planning these updates for some time.” She added, “I’ve been in this role for five years now.”
Facebook has faced challenges, especially regarding its moderation guidelines since the 2016 election, when concerns about Russian interference and bias surfaced. During recent congressional hearings, Mark Zuckerberg faced questions about content moderation policies, including the handling of illegal opioid sales and the treatment of specific user groups.
Facebook has doubled its content review team to 20,000 employees, and Zuckerberg acknowledged that significant advancements in AI technology are needed to improve content moderation further. However, Bickert noted that despite their efforts, some content still slips through due to the sheer volume of reports they receive weekly.
Looking ahead, Facebook is considering new approaches, including potentially establishing an independent oversight body, dubbed a “Supreme Court,” to adjudicate on acceptable speech. Bickert mentioned that the company is open to exploring new ideas and welcomes community input through initiatives like the Facebook Open Dialogue forums held in various global locations.
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