What is Facebook policy for content?

Facebook has extensive policies and community standards for what types of content are allowed on their platform. These policies cover areas like violence, hate speech, nudity, and harassment. The goal of Facebook’s content policies is to balance enabling free expression with maintaining a safe environment for users.

What types of content are prohibited by Facebook?

Facebook prohibits certain types of content that goes against their Community Standards. Some examples of prohibited content include:

Graphic violence – Content that depicts violence or celebrates acts of violence.

Adult nudity and sexual activity – Pictures depicting nudity or sexual acts.
Hate speech – Content attacking people based on protected characteristics like race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity or serious disease.
Bullying and harassment – Content that targets private individuals with the intention of degrading or shaming them.

Terrorist propaganda – Content created by or in support of designated terrorist organizations.
Spam – Mass solicitation content or engagement bait content aimed at increasing distribution or clicks.

This list provides some examples but is not comprehensive. Facebook provides extensive criteria and definitions around prohibited content in its Community Standards.

How does Facebook enforce its content policies?

Facebook employs a mix of human reviewers and artificial intelligence to identify and remove content that violates policies. Some key elements of how they enforce policies include:

AI tools – Facebook uses machine learning technology to review content at scale and flag potential policy violations for human review.
Human reviewers – Facebook has over 15,000 content reviewers who analyze flagged content and make decisions on whether to allow or remove it.

User-generated reports – Users can report content to Facebook as offensive or harmful, prompting review.
Partnership programs – Facebook partners with independent fact-checking organizations to identify misinformation.
Legal requests – Law enforcement and other officials can formally request content removal.

Proactive detection – Facebook proactively looks for policy violations even without user reports.

Enforcement actions include removing violating content, disabling accounts, reducing the reach of violating Pages or Groups, and in cases of criminal activity, reporting it to law enforcement.

How does Facebook define hate speech and bullying?

Facebook provides detailed criteria on what constitutes hate speech and bullying. For hate speech, Facebook defines it as:

A direct attack against people based on protected characteristics like race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity and serious disease.
Rhetoric dehumanizing or ranking groups. For example, comparing people to animals, states it’s ok to violate immigration laws, or implies a group is subhuman.
Mocking the concept or victim of hate crimes regardless of motivation.

Designated signs of hate groups.
Direct reference or denigration of a protected characteristic.

Facebook does allow criticism of immigration policies, religions, and ideologies. Attacks directed at institutions or organizations are also permitted. However, attacks against individuals or efforts to segregate, exclude or imply inferiority are not allowed.

For bullying and harassment, Facebook defines it as:

Severely degrading individuals based on protected characteristics.
Mocking victims of violent tragedies.

Sharing non-consensual intimate imagery.
Sexualizing another adult.
Statements of inferiority or contempt directed against individuals.

Cursing at or calling for exclusion of vulnerable groups or individuals.

Facebook notes context and intent matters in determining violations. Attacks against public figures receive more latitude compared to private individuals.

What happens when you share prohibited content on Facebook?

If you share content that violates Facebook policies, here are potential consequences:

Content removal – Offending content is taken down.
Account restrictions – Features like posting, commenting or live streaming can be temporarily restricted.
Account disabling – For severe or repeat violations, accounts can be disabled.

Loss of monetization – Pages and accounts that repeatedly share violating content can lose their ability to monetize and advertise.

The specific action depends on the severity of the violation and a user’s history of offenses. Facebook will notify users if content is removed with an explanation of which policies were violated.

How does Facebook handle misinformation?

Facebook works to reduce misinformation in several ways:

Fact-checking – Posts making false claims are sent to independent fact-checkers for review. If found false, their distribution is reduced and they appear lower in News Feed.
Labels – Content rated false or altered media by fact-checkers gets a label warning users.
Removing demonstrably false claims – Claims debunked by health organizations are eligible for removal.

Reducing recommending – Groups that repeatedly share misinformation have their content recommended less.
Limits on reach – Accounts that repeatedly share false news see their overall distribution reduced.

During fast-moving news events where misinformation risk is high, Facebook may also temporarily reduce how content can be shared or activate a breaking news tag connecting people to authoritative information.

How does Facebook handle graphic or adult content?

Facebook restricts graphic and adult content to avoid exposing users to potentially disturbing material without consent. Their key policies include:

Nudity – Images depicting nude adults where nudity is the primary focus are prohibited. Images depicting acts like childbirth or health awareness are allowed.
Sexual activity – Depictions of sexual acts like intercourse or masturbation, even if not nude, are prohibited.

Violence – Graphic images of dying, wounded or mutilated people are not allowed. Some violence like in sports or video games may be permitted with a warning screen.

Facebook requires nudity and sexual content be consensually shared and not involving minors. Images shared for medical or health purposes are generally permitted. Overall, the context of graphic content matters in policy enforcement.

How does Facebook handle private information and privacy violations?

Facebook prohibits sharing private or confidential information without permission. This includes:

Private contact information like phone numbers, addresses or email addresses.
Private financial information like bank account or credit card numbers.
Private legal documents like social security or driver’s license numbers.

Private medical records.
Non-consensually shared intimate imagery.

Users can report privacy violations to Facebook for review and removal. Facebook also has automated systems to detect common methods of sharing prohibited private information like phone numbers or social security numbers.

Facebook also restricts unauthorized sharing of confidential proprietary information like trade secrets, internal communications or leaked confidential government information.

What criteria does Facebook use to restrict hate organizations?

Facebook restricts organizations that engage in the following:

Violence or hate in their mission statements or objectives.

Designating protected groups as inferior, subhuman or evil.
Using hate speech, slurs or symbols tied to hate groups.
Praising or supporting groups involved in violence.

Attacks motivated by bias or hatred against protected groups.

Restrictions apply to Pages, Groups, accounts and certain content created by or clearly affiliated with hate organizations. Facebook still allows criticism of organizations or discussion of issues related to hate organizations for educational or awareness purposes.

How are Facebook’s content policies and community standards developed?

Facebook notes their content policies are based on seven foundational values:

Voice – Enabling expression of diverse views.
Safety – Protecting communities from harm.
Privacy – Safeguarding personal information.

Dignity – Recognizing the inherent worth of all people.
Truthfulness – Rejecting misinformation.
Equality – Treating all people and views equally.

Authenticity – Creating a place for real people and real communities.

Specific policies are developed through extensive consultation with outside experts to identify areas of potential harm while enabling free expression. Policy development involves input from civil society organizations, community advocacy groups, academics, and regulators in different countries.

Facebook refines policies over time based on real-world enforcement experience and feedback on unclear issues or unintended consequences. They conduct periodic reviews to assess whether policies are drawing the right lines between enabling expression and preventing harm.

How can users appeal content decisions or policy violations on Facebook?

If users feel Facebook made a mistake in removing content or taking action on an account, they can appeal the decision. The process depends on the type of content:

Individual posts – Click “Request Review” on the content removal notice. An appeal goes to Facebook’s human review team.
Photo/video appeals – Upload an ID to verify account ownership. A reviewer re-evaluates the content removal.

Account actions – Fill out the appeals form detailing why the action was a mistake. The appropriate team investigates.
Pages or ad accounts – File an appeal through the Page or ad account. A Facebook team reviews according to stated policies.

Users should explain in detail why the Facebook decision was incorrect and provide any supporting evidence. Successful appeals result in content or accounts being restored.

How can users provide feedback on Facebook’s content policies?

Facebook provides a few channels for users to give feedback on content policies and enforcement:

Content policy surveys – Facebook periodically surveys users on policy rules and examples to identify unclear areas.
Oversight Board – Users can submit content decisions for review by Facebook’s independent Oversight Board.

Policy consultation – Facebook solicits civil society groups and outside experts for input on content policies.
Reporting issues – Use the “Give Feedback” link when reporting content to note unclear or inconsistent policies.

Feedback goes into regular content policy reviews and development of enforcement guidance. Detailed, constructive feedback focusing on specific policies or examples helps improve guidelines for reviewers.

How is Facebook increasing transparency around its content policies?

Some steps Facebook takes to enable transparency include:

Publishing detailed Community Standards – The public guidelines cover policy rules, definitions and criteria for prohibited content.
Content policy explainer videos – Short videos on Facebook’s YouTube channel explain the rationale behind specific policies.

Internal policy training – Released samples of slide decks and resources reviewers use to understand policies.
Enforcement metrics – Public reports sharing metrics on policy enforcement actions like content removed.
Oversight Board transparency – Public database of cases reviewed and decisions made by the independent Oversight Board.

Facebook also issues periodic updates highlighting changes to content policies and new enforcement approaches. They are increasing transparency to build public trust and knowledge around how their policies work.

Conclusion

Facebook’s content policies try to strike a balance between enabling free expression and maintaining a safe, authentic community. Extensive guidelines prohibit types of content like graphic violence, adult nudity, hate speech, and bullying. A mix of human reviewers and AI tools enforce these policies. Facebook refines rules over time based on enforcement experience, outside input, and user feedback. Increasing transparency around policies, processes, and actions taken aims to build public understanding of their content standards.