Facebook has published its previously internal Community Standards, which explain on what grounds it might delete a post or ban a poster, according Telecompaper. The company said it will start an appeals process that will make it easier for people to ask for an additional review for posts that were taken down, or on those left up after being reported in violation of standards.
The company explained that the standards were enforced by experts in 11 offices around the world, considering matters such as hate speech, child safety and terrorism. The team gets input every week from experts and organisations outside of Facebook to get different perspectives and to better adjust policies for the different communities worldwide. To identify potential violations to the standards, the company uses a combination of artificial intelligence and reports from people. Working in40 languages, there are a total of 7,500 content reviewers currently, 40 percent more than last year.
While Facebook admitted that enforcement is always perfect, it said it was actively working on the issues and that it will, over the coming year, build out the ability for people to appeal decisions. It will start by launching appeals for posts that were removed for nudity/sexual activity, hate speech or graphic violence. People whose posts were removed will be notified and given the option to request an additional review. If there was a mistake, those people will be notified again and the post, photo or video will be restored. Facebook will then get to work on other violation types, giving people the change to provide more context. There will also be room to make appeals for content that was reported and then left up.
To get more input and participation from people regarding its Community Standards, Facebook will next month launch Facebook Forums: Community Standards, a series of public events in Germany, France, the UK, India, Singapore, the US and other countries where it will seek direct feedback. More details on the move will be given when they are finalised.
