Controversy Over Facebook Guidelines Not Regulating Death Threats Against Public Figures

Even content about killing a specific person will not be deleted if there are no tags.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Facebook's content moderation rules, which allow certain threatening posts including indirect death threats against public figures, have sparked controversy.

According to a Facebook content moderation document obtained by the British daily The Guardian on the 23rd (local time), Facebook permits posts containing threatening expressions toward celebrities as long as the individual is not directly mentioned.

Facebook broadly classifies public figures to include politicians, entertainers, users with a large number of followers, and individuals frequently mentioned in the media.

According to Facebook's moderation standards revealed by The Guardian, if users post threatening content about public figures without directly tagging the person involved, the posts are excluded from regulation. Even posts stating intentions to kill a specific public figure are not removed if the individual is not directly tagged.

Some have criticized Facebook for not taking responsibility for violent posts. Imran Ahmed, founder of the nonprofit organization Center for Countering Digital Hate, stated, "This poses a serious threat to the safety of public figures," and added, "Even if the post does not directly tag the individual, it risks inciting violence against them."

Facebook responded by saying it aims to protect freedom of expression. A Facebook spokesperson said, "Critical discussions about all public figures, including politicians, should be freely allowed," adding, "However, we plan to appropriately regulate excessive hateful expressions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.