Facebook has updated its community terms (TOS or Terms of Service) to help users understand what they can and cannot share on the social network.
The revised guidelines clarify Facebook 's policies on several issues, including harassment, threats of violence, self-harm and hate speech . The company is trying to strike a balance between excluding offensive content and allowing freedom of expression on its network.
The most popular social networking site prohibits harassment of other users, threats of sexual violence, promotion of self-harm and support for terrorist organizations. It also prohibits hate speech that attacks people based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religious beliefs and sexual orientation.
The company says it will attempt to review cases reported to it in order to preserve users' freedom to share their ideas. For example, it will review content depicting violence or human rights abuses to determine whether it was posted for sadistic pleasure or to raise awareness about these issues before deciding whether to remove it.
Also on the relevant website of the most famous social networking site, it states that "the community is based on diversity. This means that it is possible for you to disagree or be bothered by something, but because the necessary conditions are not met, it is not possible to remove or block it. For this reason, the social network offers personal settings with which you can control what you see and what not. For example, you can hide posts from people or pages that provoke or offend you, or even delete them from your friends list."
On the other hand, if the most famous social networking site receives a request from a country to remove some content, because it is illegal or offensive in that country, it will not necessarily have to delete the content, but rather restrict access to it in that country.
The company, according to TNW, also reports that it has seen an 11% increase in requests from governments of various countries to restrict content on the social network in the second half of 2014, compared to the first half.
Facebook it “will continue to press governments around the world to reform their surveillance practices in a way that maintains the safety and security of their people, while ensuring protected rights and freedoms.”
Source: secnews.gr
