Facebook Allows Violent Images And Videos With the Right Intention

Facebook did have a ban on graphic content before, but it seems that this ban has been reversed now that Facebook has started to enable users to post violent images or videos. There is one condition to it though – the posting of such graphic content has a purpose, which is, your intention must be to condemn, and not glorify, such acts as depicted in the video, according to the good people over at the BBC. The BBC picked up a tip from a user who mentioned that complaints from other members fell on deaf ears at Facebook, as Facebook continued to refuse the deletion of a page that depicted a gruesome situation in a video where a masked man beheaded a woman, allegedly in Mexico.

So far, we have heard that Facebook started to delete visually graphic content in May this year after child-protection advocates complained about videos that showed decapitations. According to the Family Online Safety Institute, such disturbing images “crossed a line” and might carry the possibility of potentially causing psychological damage among Facebook users, as some of them are as young as 13. Facebook mentioned in May, “We will remove instances of these videos that are reported to us while we evaluate our policy and approach to this type of content.”

It seems that this policy has been quietly reversed after some time, with Facebook mentioning, “Facebook has long been a place where people turn to share their experiences, particularly when they’re connected to controversial events on the ground, such as human rights abuses, acts of terrorism and other violent events. People share videos of these events on Facebook to condemn them. If they were being celebrated, or the actions in them encouraged, our approach would be different.”

Monitoring intent would be a whole lot more difficult, don’t you think so?

Edwin Kee
Categories: Computers
Tags: Facebook