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It can be incredibly frustrating to find yourself unable to post on your Facebook account after one post that appears to violate the social network’s rules.
This temporary ban is known as ‘Facebook Jail,’ It has been a source of much debate in recent years around censorship and free speech online.
To lighten its penalties, Meta recently announced that it would no longer issue penalties for minor violations starting at the first offense; instead, users must accumulate seven strikes before being penalized.
While this change may seem beneficial to those who have found themselves unjustly silenced on Facebook, some people have concerns that reducing the severity of restrictions could lead to more disinformation and hate speech on the platform.
Oversight Board Recommendations
Recently, Facebook has decided to change its penalty system based on the advice of an Oversight Board.
This Board consists of experts, academics, and lawyers who look into appeals made by people who think Facebook unfairly punished them.
The Board suggested that punishments doled out by Facebook may be too harsh or not explained properly and proposed that users are allowed to explain why their posts didn’t break the rules if they disagree with a decision.
Facebook Announces Changes to Penalty System
Facebook announced it is changing how it penalizes people for violating its content policy. Instead of automatically restricting users from posting on the site, Facebook will first explain why certain types of content have been removed and which policies have been violated.
The new system also won’t enforce strict penalties until the seventh violation in most cases.
This change is because sometimes people make mistakes or don’t understand all of Facebook’s rules.
By not punishing them for minor rule-breaking right away, Facebook hopes to give people more chances to learn what is allowed on the site and help create a fairer system.
Monika Bickert, Meta vice president of Content Policy, explained, “We’re making this change in part because we know we don’t always get it right. So rather than potentially over-penalizing people with a lower number of strikes from low-severity violations and limiting their ability to express themselves, this new approach will lead to faster and more impactful actions for those that continuously violate our policies.”
Facebook Violation Examples
In its statement, Facebook provided several examples of posts that may have previously resulted in a restriction on Facebook.
In one example, you may have been joking with a friend by saying, “I’m going to kidnap you,” when in reality, it was just an invitation for dinner after a rough day.
Or perhaps you posted someone’s name and address – which goes against the policy of revealing personal information. When really, all you were trying to do was invite them to a party at the address. Facebook previously responded strictly in both of these situations.
My Thoughts
Facebook’s penalty system is a difficult but necessary process to protect its users from misinformation and hate speech.
It is a tricky balance between allowing users to freely express themselves and keeping potentially dangerous material off the platform. However, Facebook must strike a balance for everyone to feel safe on the social media giant.
Additionally, moderation of so many posts being made all day is an expensive undertaking – yet it’s necessary if we want our social media platforms to remain places of safety.
Hopefully, with their adjusted rules, Facebook will find the right balance between free expression and security.
What are your thoughts? Is Facebook being too strict, or not strict enough? Leave your comments below.
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