Facebook is thinking about adjusting content policy after criticism

Facebook will consider changing its content posting policy in the near future. The reason for this is the recent unrest in the United States, in which the president has been accused of inciting violence on social media.

Mark Zuckerberg has set out in a post on Facebook in seven points what his company will be working on in the coming period. For example, the policy on posting messages about police brutality and posts about voter suppression, i.e. content that appears to be aimed at discouraging voting in elections. Facebook will also look into labeling posts that incite violence; now the social networking site only has the option to delete a post, or to leave it online.

Furthermore, Facebook wants to make its decision-making process regarding moderation on the site more transparent. If a complaint is made about a post where the decision is complicated, the moderation team wants to show the grounds on which the decision was made. Finally, the company is working on a voter hub to encourage people to vote.

These plans come out after Facebook has recently been criticized for its content policy. It started with the death of George Floyd in the United States and the protests that followed. US President Trump then posted a message on Twitter that received a warning label about glorifying violence. Many people, including employees, had asked Facebook to take similar measures.

Because no action was taken, Facebook received a lot of criticism. A number of employees resigned, and a number did a virtual walkout of their workplace. The criticism therefore seems to have moved Facebook to take a closer look at the content policy. Incidentally, Facebook also came up with a label for state media.