Facebook, as one of the largest social media platforms in the world, has implemented various policies and restrictions regarding the type of content that can be posted on their platform. With billions of users across the globe, Facebook aims to balance free expression with safety and respect for all communities using their services.
When Facebook was first created in 2004, there were very few restrictions on what users could post. However, as the platform grew, so did problems like cyberbullying, hate speech, nudity, and false information. In response, Facebook has created an evolving set of Community Standards outlining what is and is not allowed on their platform. These standards cover topics like violence, sexual content, hate speech, and more.
In addition to community standards, Facebook also has restrictions when it comes to advertising policies, intellectual property policies, and platform manipulation. They use a combination of artificial intelligence, user reports, and human review to identify and remove content that violates their standards.
Types of Restricted Content
Here are some of the major types of content that Facebook restricts on their platform:
Graphic Violence
Facebook prohibits overly graphic, gruesome visuals depicting violence, as well as content that glorifies violence or celebrates the suffering of others. Some exceptions include graphic content that is newsworthy or shared to raise awareness.
Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity
Images containing nudity and some sexual content are restricted, as Facebook requires content to be appropriate for a diverse audience. Exceptions include artistic or educational content. Some restrictions also apply to digital content like videos and drawings.
Hate Speech
Facebook prohibits direct attacks on people based on protected characteristics like race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, and others. Veiled threats and statements supporting violent organizations are also not allowed.
Bullying and Harassment
Content that targets private individuals with the intention of degrading or shaming them is not allowed. This includes unwanted sexual advances, blackmail, and other coordinated harmful behavior.
False News
In order to combat misinformation, Facebook works to limit the distribution of false news on their platform. However, they make allowances for satire and opinion content.
Spam
Repetitive content that is mass-produced and artificial is restricted, as it undermines authentic human connection on the platform. Common forms of spam include clickbait headlines and comments, fake engagement fishing, and financially-motivated survey scams.
Intellectual Property Violations
Facebook complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and responds to reports of intellectual property infringement, removing pirated material as well as counterfeit goods.
How Content is Restricted
Facebook uses both proactive detection and reactive reports to identify content that violates their policies. Here is an overview of how the process works:
Automated Detection
- Uses machine learning to analyze text, photos, and videos to detect policy violations.
- Detects and removes the majority of spam, terrorist propaganda, hate speech, and adult nudity/sexual content.
- AI improves over time as algorithms are trained on new examples of violating content.
User Reports
- Users can report content that they believe violates Facebook’s standards.
- Reports are reviewed by Facebook’s content review teams.
- High priority reports (e.g. imminent harm) are escalated for accelerated review.
Proactive Detection
- Facebook searches for policy violations that AI or user reports may have missed.
- Uses signals like virality, comments, reactions, shares, etc. to flag suspicious posts.
- Prioritizes finding harmful content that has gone undetected.
Content Review
- Facebook employees review content flagged by automated systems or user reports.
- Reviewers evaluate the context to determine if it violates policies.
- Content confirmed to violate standards is removed.
Appeals
- Users can appeal content decisions they believe were made in error.
- Additional Facebook reviewers take a second look at appealed content.
- Restores content if a mistake was made, but denies appeal if violation confirmed.
By leveraging AI, human reviewers, policies that adapt to new trends, and allowing for appeals, Facebook aims to restrict harmful or inappropriate content while preserving free expression that does not violate their standards.
Controversies Around Enforcement
Facebook has faced criticism at times regarding its enforcement of content restrictions:
Inconsistent Enforcement
- Some users argue Facebook unevenly enforces policies, allowing high-profile accounts to get away with violations.
- Facebook insists standards apply equally, but enforcement at scale is always imperfect.
Over-Blocking Content
- AI moderation has flaws, occasionally removing benign content in error.
- Facebook acknowledges mistakes happen and relies on appeals process to correct them.
Under-Blocking Harmful Content
- Despite restrictions, some advocates say Facebook still allows too much hate, misinformation, and nudity.
- Facebook counters policies evolve to address new trends, but total censorship would violate free expression.
Politically Biased Enforcement
- Some conservatives argue Facebook disproportionately restricts right-leaning voices.
- While denying political bias, Facebook agrees enforcement can be subjective at times.
Overall, enforcing standards at Facebook’s scale is an ongoing challenge. The company continues updating policies and moderation practices in an effort to address these complaints.
Notable Policy Changes Over Time
Here are some significant examples of how Facebook’s content restrictions have evolved:
| Year | Policy Update | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Beacon Advertising Discontinued | After backlash over shared purchase data, Facebook allowed users to opt-out of targeted ads. |
| 2015 | Hate Speech Policy Expanded | Facebook prohibited attacks on immigrants, migrants, refugees, and people of multiple ethnicities. |
| 2018 | Fake News Policy Introduced | In response to election interference concerns, Facebook partnered with fact-checkers to rate and reduce the reach of misinformation. |
| 2021 | Ban on Holocaust Denial | Facebook finally prohibited distortion or denial of the Nazi genocide against Jews and other victims. |
As public concerns arise around new issues, Facebook continues updating their standards and moderation practices to balance safety with open expression on their platform.
Advertising Policies
In addition to restrictions on user generated content, Facebook also maintains strict policies for advertisements on their platform:
Prohibited Content in Ads
- Adult content, profanity, shocking content
- Promotions of weapons, tobacco, drugs, or unsafe supplements
- Discriminatory language or depictions
- Misinformation, sensational health claims, fake news
- Infringing on intellectual property
Restricted Ad Targeting Options
- Can’t target based on personal attributes like race, health, sexual orientation, etc.
- Interest targeting options limited for sensitive subjects like politics or health.
- Location targeting restricted for categories like ethnicity or income.
Required Ad Disclosures
- Ads on social issues, elections, or politics must disclose funding entity.
- All ads must clearly represent the company or organization behind them.
Facebook’s advertising policies aim to prevent ads that include harmful, offensive, or deceptive content. Their enforcement remains a work in progress.
Intellectual Property Policies
Facebook respects intellectual property rights and restricts unauthorized use of copyrighted, trademarked, or otherwise proprietary content on their platform in the following ways:
Copyright
- Prohibits sharing content you do not own the rights to (videos, images, etc).
- Uses AI to detect pirated content, but also relies on rights holder reports.
- Removes infringing content expeditiously when notified.
Trademarks
- Bans use of third-party logos and brand icons without permission.
- Restricts products with infringing titles, tags, or descriptions.
- Prohibits impersonating or falsely representing brands.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
- Provides a copyright complaint process in compliance with the DMCA.
- Upon valid notices, removes infringing content and notifies the responsible user.
- Terminates repeat infringers when appropriate.
Facebook provides channels for reporting intellectual property violations to ensure creators maintain control over their proprietary content.
Platform Manipulation and Spam
To protect the authenticity of connections on Facebook, the platform restricts attempts to artificially boost distribution, generate fake engagement, or otherwise manipulate user experiences.
Prohibited Types of Platform Manipulation
- Using multiple accounts or coordinated groups to mass post/comment
- Artificially boosting posts via paid services or incentivized engagement
- Cyberbullying and harassment targeted at individuals
- Creating misleading or deceptive pages, profiles, or groups
Restricting Spam
- Algorithms identify and limit the reach of repetitive, mass-produced content
- Clickbait headlines, survey scams, and content farms are downranked
- Accounts repeatedly posting spam content are blocked
Fighting Fake Engagement
- Prohibits using incentives or third-party services to boost vanity metrics
- Seeks out and removes fake likes, shares, views, etc.
- Removes accounts generating substantial artificial engagement
Maintaining authentic connections between real people is core to Facebook’s value. Policies against platform manipulation uphold the spirit of open communication.
Government Requests for Content Restriction
As Facebook operates in countries around the world, governments sometimes make requests to restrict content that violates local laws:
- Facebook complies with valid legal requests, while attempting to minimize impact to free expression.
- Common types of requested restrictions include hate speech, defamation, and obscenity violations.
- In 2021, government requests for content restrictions increased 26% to 60,363 globally.
- Russia accounted for 11% of all requests last year as censorship expanded.
Facebook produces a transparency report biannually detailing government requests and how the company responds.
Oversight Board Review of Content Decisions
For very difficult content decisions, Facebook may refer cases to their independent Oversight Board for final judgment:
- The board is an international body of legal and human rights experts.
- They review appeals and make binding content decisions for challenging cases.
- Has overridden Facebook to allow some controversial political speech.
- Provides recommendations on how Facebook can improve policy and enforcement.
The Oversight Board acts as a “Supreme Court” to adjudicate cases where freedom of expression and safety are in deepest conflict on the platform.
Conclusion
Facebook, along with other major social networks, continues attempting to find the right balance between enabling freedom of expression and restricting harmful content like violence, bullying, and misinformation. Their community standards and enforcement mechanisms remain a work in progress as new challenges emerge and norms evolve. Critics argue Facebook does not restrict enough dangerous content, while many users believe some restrictions go too far. Developing comprehensive policies that satisfy all parties is likely impossible. However, by responding to legitimate problems over time while providing transparency into how decisions get made, Facebook aims to create an online community that promotes meaningful connection and minimizes harm. Going forward, social networks will continue grappling with these deeply complex tradeoffs inherent to operating global platforms for billions of diverse users.