Facebook jail
Following recommendations from the Facebook Oversight Board, Meta is overhauling its system for implementing penalties for policy violations.
Saying it wants to focus on helping people understand why the company has removed their content, it is moving to a 'seven strikes and you're out' policy for most violations, rather than immediately blocking users from posting for 30 days.
The company says that nearly 80 per cent of users with a low number of strikes don't go on to violate its policies again in the next 60 days - indicating that most people respond well to a warning and explanation.
"Our analysis suggests that applying more severe penalties at the seventh strike is a more effective way to give well-intentioned people the guidance they need while still removing bad actors," says Monika Bickert, vice president of content policy.
There will, however, be immediate consequences for more serious violations - posting content that includes terrorism, child exploitation, human trafficking, suicide promotion, sexual exploitation, the sale of non-medical drugs or the promotion of dangerous individuals and organizations - including account removal in 'severe' cases.
The company's responding to the fact that its policies often penalize users for innocuous content: 'I could kill him!', for example, or posting a name and address with permission.
"The implications of overenforcement are real — when people are unintentionally caught up in this system, they may find it hard to run their business, connect with their communities or express themselves," says Bickert.
"Our previous system resorted quickly to long penalties, such as a 30-day block on a person’s ability to create content. These long blocks were frustrating for well-intentioned people who had made mistakes, and they did little to help those people understand our policies."
Meanwhile she says, the blocks were often counter-productive, in that they made it harder to spot violation trends and sometimes had the effect of letting real offenders stay on the site longer.
The move comes following recommendations from the Facebook Oversight Board, an independent body of experts, lawyers and academics that acts as a 'supreme court' holding the company to account.
Meta's own civil rights auditors had also observed that the system lacked proportionality, as have civil rights groups - along with many politicians and others convinced the system was biased.
The Oversight Board has, naturally, welcomed Meta's decision. However, it cautions that there's still room for improvement.
"Today’s announcement focuses on less serious violations. Yet the Board has consistently found that Meta also makes mistakes when it comes to identifying and enforcing more serious violations, which can severely impact journalists and activists. That’s why the Oversight Board has asked for greater transparency on 'severe strikes' and will continue to do so," it says in a statement.
"The Board also believes users should be able to explain the context of their post when appealing to Meta, and that context should be taken into account by content reviewers where possible."
