Facebook is admitting that it can do a better job in removing certain types of hate speech on the site, and is introducing some new policies to improve its track record.
The social network, in its current
Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, prohibits “hate speech,” but in recent days the company’s systems to identify and remove hate speech have failed to work as effectively as they could, particularly around issues of gender-based hate, said Marne Levine, vice president of global public policy at Facebook, in a
post on Tuesday.
The changes also come amid concerns voiced by groups like Women, Action and the Media and the Everyday Sexism Project about hateful and violent content targeting women appearing on Facebook.
In some cases, for instance, content has not been removed quickly enough, or content that should be removed has been evaluated using outdated criteria, Levine said.