Meta Revises Guidelines, Not Okay to Call for Assassination of Head of State

Facebook proprietor Meta Platforms stated on Sunday that it’s additional narrowing its content material moderation coverage for Ukraine to limit requires the demise of a head of state, in keeping with an inner firm publish seen by Reuters.

The transfer got here after Reuters reported final week that Meta was quickly permitting some posts on Facebook and Instagram calling for the demise of Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

After the Reuters report, Meta stated on Friday {that a} momentary change in its content material coverage, solely relevant for Ukraine, was wanted to let customers voice opposition to Russia’s assault. On the identical day, Russia opened a felony case towards the social media agency.

“We are now narrowing the focus to make it explicitly clear in the guidance that it is never to be interpreted as condoning violence against Russians in general,” Meta international affairs President Nick Clegg wrote in a publish on the corporate’s inner platform on Sunday that was seen by Reuters.

“We also do not permit calls to assassinate a head of state…So, in order to remove any ambiguity about our stance, we are further narrowing our guidance to make explicit that we are not allowing calls for the death of a head of state on our platforms,” Clegg stated.

Meta didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark, outdoors common enterprise hours.

There could be no change to insurance policies on hate speech so far as the Russian individuals are involved, Clegg stated.

“Meta stands against Russophobia. We have no tolerance for calls for genocide, ethnic cleansing, or any kind of discrimination, harassment, or violence towards Russians on our platform,” he stated.

Clegg wrote that Meta plans to refer the way in which during which it tailored the steerage it gives to content material moderators to the unbiased oversight board, which was set as much as assist the platform reply a few of the most troublesome questions round freedom of expression.

Russia’s communications regulator has imposed restrictions on Meta’s Instagram, efficient Monday. Meta had beforehand restricted entry to Russian state media retailers RT and Sputnik on its platforms throughout the European Union.

© Thomson Reuters 2022