Messenger has community standards that outline what is and isn’t allowed on the platform. These standards exist to help keep people safe and prevent harm. When you use Messenger, you agree to follow these community standards.
What are the main things covered by Messenger’s community standards?
Messenger’s community standards cover the following main areas:
- Safety: You cannot use Messenger to organize harm against others or engage in criminal activity. This includes things like terrorism, organized violence, human trafficking, and organized hate groups.
- Authenticity: You need to use your authentic identity on Messenger. Accounts portraying fake identities will be disabled.
- Privacy: You cannot publish other people’s private information without permission or harass others. This includes things like unwanted sexual advances.
- Integrity and respect: You cannot use Messenger to manipulate or mislead others with things like misinformation, inauthentic behavior, and spam.
- Content boundaries: There are some content types not allowed on Messenger, like nudity, sexual activity, regulated goods, dangerous individuals and organizations, and criminal activity.
- Legal requests: Messenger complies with legal requests from law enforcement agencies and court orders.
Who oversees enforcing Messenger’s community standards?
Messenger has a team called the Safety & Security Team that oversees enforcing community standards. This team:
- Develops the community standards policies based on feedback from experts.
- Uses proactive technology to detect violating content at scale.
- Reviews reports from users about potentially violating content.
- Takes action on violating accounts and content like disabling accounts, removing content, and blocking access.
- Provides transparency reporting on how they enforce standards.
What happens if you violate the community standards?
If you violate Messenger’s community standards, the following can happen:
- Content removal: Any violating content will be removed from Messenger.
- Account restriction: Your account may be temporarily restricted from posting, commenting, messaging, or taking other actions.
- Account disablement: For more serious or repeat violations, your account may be disabled either temporarily or permanently.
The specific action taken depends on the severity of the violation and any previous violations. If your content is removed or account disabled, you will get a notification explaining the standard violated.
How can you appeal if action is taken against your account?
If action is taken against your Messenger account, you can appeal the decision by:
- Going to the Help Center and clicking “Submit an Appeal.”
- Selecting the specific content that was acted on.
- Explaining why you think the content shouldn’t have been removed or your account disabled.
A different member of the Safety & Security Team will review your appeal and make a final decision based on the community standards and the context involved.
What happens if someone violates standards in a message thread you’re in?
If another Messenger user violates community standards in a private message thread you’re in, you can take the following actions:
- Report the message – Click the ellipsis icon next to the message and select “Report.”
- Block the user – This prevents them from contacting you again.
- Leave the thread – You can remove yourself from the thread.
- Mute the thread – You won’t get notifications from the thread anymore.
The Safety & Security Team can disable the user’s account if they determine repeated violations. But they cannot reveal any actions taken against that user to you.
How can you report violations you see?
If you see other Messenger content or accounts you believe violate community standards, you can report them using these steps:
- Click the ellipsis icon next to the content or on the user’s profile.
- Select “Report” and choose the appropriate standard being violated.
- Provide any additional context that could help the Safety & Security Team investigate.
The team can then review the report and take appropriate action based on their policies.
What are some examples of content violations?
Here are some examples of content that would violate Messenger’s community standards:
- Threats of violence against a person or group of people.
- Disseminating others’ private information like home addresses.
- Sexual harassment or unwanted sexual advances.
- Spreading harmful misinformation or conspiracies.
- Promoting or depicting dangerous criminal organizations.
- Coordinating non-consensual intimate imagery of someone.
- Spreading hate speech targeting protected groups.
What are examples of behavior violations?
Here are some examples of behavior that would violate Messenger’s standards:
- Using an inauthentic account to mislead people.
- Impersonating someone by using their image or name without consent.
- Creating multiple accounts to get around restrictions on a disabled account.
- Artificially boosting distribution of messages using groups or scripts.
- Selling or trading regulated goods like firearms without authorization.
- Operating dangerous criminal, hate, or harassment groups.
- Automatically contacting people without their consent.
Why are standards regularly updated?
Messenger regularly updates its community standards for the following reasons:
- To address new issues arising from changes in behavior and technology.
- To clarify policies based on implementation challenges and user feedback.
- To expand protections for more groups vulnerable to harm.
- To account for new types of violating content or behavior.
- To comply with new legislation or safety regulations.
Updates aim to balance maximizing expression with protecting user safety and well-being.
How can you give input on community standards?
You can provide input on Messenger’s community standards using the following methods:
- User surveys – Occasional surveys are sent to Messenger users asking for feedback on policies.
- Public consultations – Standards teams hold open consultations requesting public comments on standards.
- Beta testing – Some users are invited to beta test potential policy changes before public rollout.
- Policy forums – Messenger holds forums for discussion on standards policies with outside experts.
Your feedback helps inform any changes made to keep standards relevant and effective.
What resources exist to learn more?
You can learn more about Messenger’s community standards using these resources:
- Community Standards site – Details all standards policies and examples – https://www.messenger.com/standards
- Transparency reports – Data on enforcement of standards – https://transparency.facebook.com
- Newsroom posts – Announcements of major policy changes – https://about.fb.com/news
- Policy digest emails – Email updates summarizing standards changes – https://www.facebook.com/policiesdigest
Staying up to date on the standards helps you ensure your Messenger content and behavior align with policies.
Conclusion
Messenger’s community standards exist to help protect user safety, security, privacy, and well-being. They cover content, behavior, identities, legal requests, and more. Understanding and following the standards enables a positive messaging experience for all users. If you see content or behavior violations, reporting them helps keep Messenger safe.