Facebook's Internal Content Rules Revealed

A secretly leaked Facebook document has revealed how users are allowed to call for the death of public figures and can praise mass murders, based on company's own vague definitions of what constitutes a crime. This 300-page Facebook document explains what sentences and phrases are ethically unacceptable to publish on Facebook’s 2.8 billion monthly users’ site.

The guidelines seen by the Guardian show how the company controls its mainly outsourced moderators’ work down to the smallest detail, defining its rules so precisely that contractors are told which emojis constitute “praise” and which count as “condemnation”.

A particular area of contention surrounds what are defined as dangerous individuals and organisations. In the leaked documents dating from December 2020, moderators for Facebook and Instagram are instructed how to define “support” for terrorist groups and other “dangerous individuals”, whether to distinguish between “explaining” and “justifying” the actions of terrorists, and even in what contexts it is acceptable to call for the use of “gas chambers”.

While Facebook’s community guidelines which have in a short report been publicly available since 2018 but these newly leaked 300 page documents are different. 

These much more detailed guidelines explain what the published rules mean in practice. Facebook has long argued that to publish the full documents would be counterproductive since it would let malicious users avoid a ban for deliberately borderline behaviour.

According to the internal guidelines, Facebook bans users from “expressing a belief in the stated goals, methods, etc of an organisation or individual.” According to the company they do protect the public figures in some ways. Any posts which seems to have an extremely severe attack is removed while posts containing threats in which the directed person is tagged is also removed. However, for the private citizens this security goes a lot deeper and further and they are protected in several other ways with greater measures. 

Facebook, which also owns Instagram, has changed its policies in response to the criticism, introducing new rules to cover abuse sent through direct messages and committing to cooperate with law enforcement over hate speech.

These new guidelines say public figures can be targeted in ways that the company bans for those classed as private individuals, although they cannot be tagged in the content and its policy protects them from direct threats of severe physical harmIt comes as social networks face renewed criticism over abuse on their platforms from people in the public eye, including  the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and black sports stars like soccer player Marcus Rashford. 

In response to the Guardian, a Facebook spokesperson said: “We think it’s important to allow critical discussion of politicians and other people in the public eye. But that doesn’t mean we allow people to abuse or harass them on our apps.

“We remove hate speech and threats of serious harm no matter who the target is, and we’re exploring more ways to protect public figures from harassment.... We regularly consult with safety experts, human rights defenders, journalists and activists to get feedback on our policies and make sure they’re in the right place.”

Facebook:    Guardian:      ITV:      Daly Mail:     MacObserver:    Digital Information World:     Image: Unsplash

You Might Also Read: 

Facebook To Pay $650m For Facial Recognition Lawsuit:

 

« Avoiding Arrest: Cyber Criminals Share Dark Web Secrets
Investigating Fake News With Google, YouTube & Facebook »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

NordLayer

NordLayer

NordLayer is an adaptive network access security solution for modern businesses — from the world’s most trusted cybersecurity brand, Nord Security. 

Practice Labs

Practice Labs

Practice Labs is an IT competency hub, where live-lab environments give access to real equipment for hands-on practice of essential cybersecurity skills.

XYPRO Technology

XYPRO Technology

XYPRO is the market leader in HPE Non-Stop Security, Risk Management and Compliance.

WEBINAR: How To Build And Implement An Effective Endpoint Detection And Response Strategy

WEBINAR: How To Build And Implement An Effective Endpoint Detection And Response Strategy

Join this webinar to learn how the cloud threat landscape is evolving and organizations are deploying more advanced and capable security controls at scale.

Jooble

Jooble

Jooble is a job search aggregator operating in 71 countries worldwide. We simplify the job search process by displaying active job ads from major job boards and career sites across the internet.

Engage Black

Engage Black

Engage Black provides solutions for securing and protecting cryptographic keys, data at rest, and data in motion.

Digital Hands

Digital Hands

Digital Hands is an award-winning managed security services provider.

Upstream Security

Upstream Security

Upstream Security is the first cloud-based cyber-security solution that protects the technologies and applications of connected and autonomous vehicles.

Swiss Cyber Storm

Swiss Cyber Storm

Swiss Cyber Storm is a non profit organization hosting the international Swiss Cyber Storm Conference and running the Swiss part of the European Cyber Security Challenges.

VietSunshine

VietSunshine

VietSunshine is a leading provider of network security infrastructure and solutions in Vietnam.

Aspisec

Aspisec

Aspisec is a cybersecurity company specialized in Firmware Security and Critical Infrastructure Protection.

Solidified

Solidified

Solidified is the largest audit platform for smart contracts. Our community has the highest concentration of top Blockchain security specialists and best-in-class code auditors.

Authenteq

Authenteq

Authenteq provides an Omni-Channel identity verification and KYC solution that allows your customers to verify their identity through any channel without compromising their privacy.

Trust Stamp

Trust Stamp

Trust Stamp provide Identity and Trust as a Service to answer two fundamental questions: “Who are you?” and “Do I trust you?"

CyberClan

CyberClan

CyberClan’s carefully selected team of experts is capable of solving complex cyber security challenges – keeping your data secure and your businesses running as usual.

Secureframe

Secureframe

Companies from startups to enterprises use Secureframe to automate SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliance, complete audits, and continuously monitor their security.

Onesecure Asia

Onesecure Asia

ONESECURE Asia’s expertise and services are built around its mission to provide reliable, robust and scalable technology solutions to cater for its customers’ needs.

Opora

Opora

Opora is the leading cybersecurity provider of adversary behavior analytics “ABA” and preemptive security solutions.

Delta Tech Security

Delta Tech Security

Delta Tech is Pakistan’s Leading Cyber Security Solution Provider. We bring you a world-class set of consulting, next-generation products, and customized training to help protect against cyber attacks

Apollo Information Systems

Apollo Information Systems

Apollo is a value-added reseller that provides our clients with the complete set of cybersecurity and networking services and solutions.

Cloud Seguro

Cloud Seguro

Cloud Seguro are leaders in the development of cloud solutions, Ethical Hacking, Privacy and Information Security.