Meta’s Oversight Board says Facebook should change the rules for wartime posts

/ 

‘When violence is itself lawful under international law, speech urging such violence presents different considerations.’

Facebook recently updated some rules regarding when and how people could share posts. In order to ensure that content is not being shared by terrorists or overt propaganda, they created new “info-warfare” rules that favor the regulations for the United States military and third-party followers.

Facebook wants to suspend access to content in peacetime

Facebook wants to suspend access to content in peacetime. Critics of the platform say that this decision will suppress free speech and stifle dissent. How do these claims stack up?

Most Facebook users are familiar with the settings that enable them to limit access to their account for family or friends who don’t need to see everything they post. But what about when someone wants to protect themselves from seeing upsetting news or opinions? Currently, Facebook doesn’t offer any way for people to expose only specific third-party followers selectively – people who haven’t personally been added to your account – from seeing posts about particular topics.

This is a problem, according to Danah Boyd, an associate professor of creative media at New York University who has written extensively about social media platforms and decentralization. “If you don’t have a way of self-aggrandizement censorship on a scale where I can control all my followers individually, it weakens the platform overall, because then it becomes less attractive as an expressive tool,” she told me.

Boyd says that if Facebook had such granular controls over followees’ exposure to content, it could help reduce divisive conversation by “vetting” followees before allowing them access based on their social media activity (e.g., whether they’ve commented on controversial articles). This would prevent spammers and trolls from gaining a foothold on the platform by providing fake accounts with high follower counts – something

Rules to Share on Facebook during a War

Facebook has been criticized for not doing enough to prevent its platform from being used as a tool for promoting propaganda during wartime. The social media platform has come under fire in recent months for allowing pages linked to Russia’s Ministry of Defense and the Syrian government to maintain large followings on the platform.

Some believe that Facebook should change its rules so that Third-Party Followers (TPFs) are automatically removed from a profile if they are found to be affiliated with a page or group banned by Facebook for promoting propaganda. This proposal is currently being debated within the company, with some arguing that it would be too difficult to enforce and others saying that it is necessary in order to protect users from accidentally interacting with misleading content.

Whichever way Facebook decides to go, it will need to take into consideration the concerns of its users – especially those who live in areas affected by conflict – while ensuring that its platform remains user-friendly and safe.

Concerns about regulating posts

Some Facebook users are concerned about new rules being proposed by the site that would make it harder for third-party followers to be created. If passed, the changes would mean that only people who are friends of a Facebook user would be able to follow their posts. Critics say this could restrict the ability of other people to learn more about a person’s life and views, and could make it harder for people to get involved in political or social discussions. So far, only a small number of Facebook users have voiced their concerns publicly, but if enough people voice their opposition, the company may reconsider its stance.

Conclusion

A number of Facebook users have started to speak out against the social media platform’s policy of allowing only those with a “timeline” or personal account to follow other people on the site. This policy, which is intended to prevent spamming and trolling, has led to a number of third-party followers being cut off from those they follow. Critics argue that this prevents people who use Facebook as a way to connect with friends and family members from following those people, which can be frustrating for them.

If you are one of these users who has had your follower count reduced, or who has been blocked from following someone you want to keep in touch with, there is some hope: Facebook is reportedly considering changing its rules so that all followers on the site will be able to see updates made by their favorite personalities. While this change may not happen overnight — and it may not be perfect — it could go a long way in restoring the vital connection between Facebook users and their favorite personalities.