Facebook isnโt known for its consistency when it comes to content moderation โ wanting to be the arbiter of truth when it comes to the news but less interested in direct death threats to public officials.
Facebookโs policies on harassment and bullying differentiate between public figures and private individuals. Documents leaked to The Guardian reveal that users can target public figures without getting banned, including โcalls for death.โ
The documents obtained by The Guardian show how the company has different rules for public figures and private individuals.
โFor public figures, we remove attacks that are severe as well as certain attacks where the public figure is directly tagged in the post or comment. For private individuals, our protection goes further: we remove content thatโs meant to degrade or shame, including, for example, claims about someoneโs sexual activity,โ the policies state.
So, a user cannot target a private individual with โcalls for death,โ but can do the same to a public figure as long as they do not tag them in the post. The companyโs definition of public is wide, covering politicians, those running for office, and journalists who โwrite/speak publicly.โ
Online fame also qualifies a user as a public figure, if they have 100,000 followers or fans on one of their accounts. Appearing in the news also makes a user a public figure. โPeople who are mentioned in the title, subtitle or preview of 5 or more news articles or media pieces within the last 2 yearsโ are considered public figures. The only exception to that rule are kids under the age of 13.
However, the company protects โinvoluntaryโ public figures, those famous people โwho are not true celebrities, and who have not engaged with their fame, UNLESS they have been accused of criminal activity.โ But, having a social media presence disqualifies someone from the protections of โinvoluntaryโ public figures.
Facebook allows public users to be the victims of some types of abuse since it wants โto allow discussion, which often includes critical commentary of people who are featured in the news.โ
It does protect public figures from certain attacks, such as threats to release personal information, direct threats of violence, and derogatory sexualized phrases.
โWe think itโs important to allow critical discussion of politicians and other people in the public eye. But that doesnโt 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 weโre 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 theyโre in the right place,โ a Facebook spokesperson told The Guardian.
On why the leaked guidelines are not publicly available, the company said: โBy publishing our community standards, the notes from the regular meetings we have with global teams to discuss and update them, and our quarterly reports on how weโre doing to enforce our policies, we provide more transparency than any technology company. We also intend to make even more of these documents public over time.โ