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Facebook’s Internal Community Standards
Article

Facebook’s Internal Community Standards

Facebook, 2018

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Eye Opening
  • Engaging
  • Insider's Take

Recommendation

After years of offering users only general guidelines for what content it does and doesn’t allow on the platform, Facebook released its internal community guidelines for the first time in April 2018. Users now will know what Facebook considers acceptable or not, how it defines concepts such as nudity and hate speech, and what actions it will take in response to different levels of violations. Because Facebook’s community standards define what users can expect from the platform, getAbstract considers them recommended reading for all users.

Summary

Facebook intends its community standards to encourage expression, keep users safe and treat its two billion users fairly. The company recognizes the necessity of distinguishing between harmful content and content that might appear similar but have a positive purpose. In the attempt to apply the standards globally, Facebook’s enforcement might sometimes appear inconsistent with the company’s aims. Hence, in some cases, Facebook will make a decision that accords with the “spirit, rather than the letter” of the standards.

Facebook strives to offer a safe space and tries to avoid...

About the Author

Facebook is an American online social media and social networking service with two billion users worldwide.