Facebook Community Standards
Policies that outline what is and isn't allowed on the Facebook app.
Instagram Community Guidelines
Policies that outline what is and isn't allowed on the Instagram app.
Meta Advertising Standards
Policies for ad content and business assets.
Other policies
Other policies that apply to Meta technologies.
How Meta improves
How we update our policies, measure results, work with others, and more.
Our approach to the opioid epidemic
How we support communities in the face of the opioid epidemic.
Our approach to elections
How we help prevent interference, empower people to vote and more.
Our approach to misinformation
How we work with independent fact-checkers, and more, to identify and take action on misinformation.
Our approach to newsworthy content
How we assess content for newsworthiness.
Our approach to Facebook Feed ranking
How we reduce problematic content in News Feed.
Our approach to explaining ranking
How we build AI systems.
Content Library and Content Library API
Comprehensive access to public data from Facebook and Instagram
Ad Library tools
Comprehensive and searchable database of all ads currently running across Meta technologies
Other research tools and datasets
Additional tools for in-depth research on Meta technologies and programs
Community Standards Enforcement Report
Quarterly report on how well we're doing at enforcing our policies on the Facebook app and Instagram.
Intellectual Property
Report on how well we're helping people protect their intellectual property.
Government Requests for User Data
Report on government request for people's data.
Content Restrictions Based on Local Law
Report on when we restrict content that's reported to us as violating local law.
Internet Disruptions
Report on intentional internet restrictions that limit people's ability to access the internet.
Widely Viewed Content Report
Quarterly report on what people see on Facebook, including the content that receives the widest distribution during the quarter.
Regulatory and Other Transparency Reports
Download current and past regulatory reports for Facebook and Instagram.
Sensational Content
Policy details
Change log
CHANGE LOG
Change log
Today
Current version
Sensational Content
This policy provides additional protections for people who use our technologies beyond what is prohibited in the Community Standards’ Violent and Graphic Content policy. For example, content that has been deemed sensitive or disturbing is not eligible to run in ads. Advertisers can’t run ads that include shocking, sensational or excessively violent content. People have different sensitivities to graphic and violent content. Images and videos should be relevant and avoid shocking or scaring people to grab their attention.
Ads can’t:
- Shock, scare or disgust. This includes but is not limited to imagery that shows:
- Mutilation
- Fetuses that show dismemberment
- Human body waste
- Graphic details of hygiene or grooming, such as pimple popping
- Non-medical foreign objects, such as metal objects, knives, nails, involuntarily inserted or stuck into people causing grievous injury
- Animal innards or dismemberment, except in generic food processing
- Rotting or decomposition
- Graphic crime scenes or accidents
- Focus on graphic violence or torture. This includes but is not limited to imagery that shows:
- Acts of torture committed against self or others
- Abuse of animals
- Highlight suffering. This includes but is not limited to imagery that shows:
- Violent death or life-threatening event
- Visible distress from an accident or medical procedure or law enforcement
- Suffering of animals in hunting context
- Depict the brandishing of firearms. This includes but is not limited to content that:
- Shows a firearm being pointed at the viewer
- Implies the use of a firearm, such as cocking a firearm
For tips on how to comply with this policy, visit the Business Help Center.
Reporting
1
Universal entry point
We have an option to report, whether it’s on a post, a comment, a story, a message or something else.
2
Get started
We help people report things that they don’t think should be on our platform.
3
Select a problem
We ask people to tell us more about what’s wrong. This helps us send the report to the right place.
4
Report submitted
After these steps, we submit the report. We also lay out what people should expect next.
Post-report communication
1
Update via notifications
After we’ve reviewed the report, we’ll send the reporting user a notification.
2
More detail in the Support Inbox
We’ll share more details about our review decision in the Support Inbox. We’ll notify people that this information is there and send them a link to it.
3
Appeal option
If people think we got the decision wrong, they can request another review.
4
Post-appeal communication
We’ll send a final response after we’ve re-reviewed the content, again to the Support Inbox.
Takedown experience
1
Immediate notification
When someone posts something that doesn't follow our rules, we’ll tell them.
2
Additional context
We’ll also address common misperceptions and explain why we made the decision to enforce.
3
Policy Explanation
We’ll give people easy-to-understand explanations about the relevant rule.
4
Option for review
If people disagree with the decision, they can ask for another review and provide more information.
5
Final decision
We set expectations about what will happen after the review has been submitted.
Enforcement
We have the same policies around the world, for everyone on Facebook.
Review teams
Our global team of over 15,000 reviewers work every day to keep people on Facebook safe.
Stakeholder engagement
Outside experts, academics, NGOs and policymakers help inform the Facebook Community Standards.
