Now it will be more difficult to end up in “Facebook jail”. meta says it is your sanctions system so people are less likely to have their accounts banned for less serious violations of company rules.
“Under the new system, we will focus on helping people understand why we have removed their content, which has proven to be more effective in preventing recurrence, rather than so quickly restricting their ability to post,” Meta explains in a statement. release. . “We will continue to apply account restrictions to persistent infringers, typically starting with the seventh infringement, after we have provided sufficient warning and explanation to help the individual understand why we removed their content.”
Previously, users could end up in “Facebook Jail,” barred from posting to the platform for 30 days at a time, for relatively minor violations. Meta says that it sometimes imposed these types of penalties in error due to “missing context.” For example, someone who jokingly told a friend they would “kidnap” them, or posted a friend’s address to invite others to an event, may have been wrongfully penalized. These punishments were not only unfair to “well-intentioned” users, but in some cases made it difficult for the company to identify the real bad guys.
With the , users may still not be able to access certain features, such as posting to groups, after a warning, but they will still be able to post to other parts of the service. Restrictions longer than thirty days will be reserved for a user’s tenth notice, although the company may impose further restrictions for “serious” rule violations. Facebook users will be able to view their past violations and details about account restrictions in the “Account Status” tab of the app.
Meta notes that the review comes as a result of feedback from the Oversight Board, which has repeatedly criticized Meta for failing to provide users with information about why their posts were removed. In following Meta’s new policy, the board said the changes were “a welcome step in the right direction” but “there is still room for improvement.”
The board notes that the latest changes do nothing to address “severe strikes,” which can have a huge impact on activists and journalists, especially when the company makes a mistake. The Oversight Board also said that Meta should give users the opportunity to add context to their appeals, and that the information should be made available to its moderators.
All Engadget Recommended products are curated by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices are correct at the time of publication.
