Policy details

Change log

CHANGE LOG

Change log

Today

Current version

Jun 30, 2022
Dec 18, 2020
Oct 30, 2019

Policy Rationale

We work hard to limit the spread of spam because we do not want to allow content that is designed to deceive, or that attempts to mislead users, to increase viewership. This content creates a negative user experience, detracts from people's ability to engage authentically in online communities and can threaten the security, stability and usability of our services. We also aim to prevent people from abusing our platform, products or features to artificially increase viewership or distribute content en masse for commercial gain.

Do not:

  • Post, share, engage with content or create accounts, Groups, Pages, Events or other assets, either manually or automatically, at very high frequencies.
  • Attempt to or successfully sell, buy or exchange site privileges, engagement, or product features, such as accounts, admin roles, permission to post, Pages, Groups, likes, etc., except in the case of clearly identified branded content, as defined by our Branded Content Policies.
  • Require or claim that users are required to engage with content (e.g. liking, sharing) before they are able to view or interact with promised content.
  • Encourage likes, shares, follows, clicks or the use of apps or websites under false pretenses, such as:
    • Offering false or non-existent services or functionality(e.g. “Get a ‘Dislike’ button!”)
    • Failing to direct to promised content (e.g. “Click here for a discount code at Nordstrom”; false play buttons)
    • The deceptive or misleading use of URLs, defined as:
      • Cloaking: Presenting different content to Facebook users and Facebook crawlers or tools.
      • Misleading content: Content contains a link that promises one type of content but delivers something substantially different.
      • Deceptive redirect behavior: Websites that require an action (e.g. captcha, watch ad, click here) in order to view the expected landing page content and the domain name of the URL changes after the required action is complete.
      • Like/share-gating: Landing pages that require users to like, share, or otherwise engage with content before gaining access to content.
      • Deceptive landing page functionality: Websites that have a misleading user interface, which results in accidental traffic being generated (e.g. pop-ups/unders, clickjacking, etc.).
      • Typosquatting: An external website pretends to be a reputable brand or service by using a name, domain or content that features typos, misspellings or other means to impersonate well-known brands using a landing page similar to another, trusted site to mislead visitors (e.g. www.faceb00k.com, www.face_book.com).
      • And other behaviors that are substantially similar to the above.
User experiences

See some examples of what enforcement looks like for people on Facebook, such as: what it looks like to report something you don’t think should be on Facebook, to be told you’ve violated our Community Standards and to see a warning screen over certain content.

Note: We’re always improving, so what you see here may be slightly outdated compared to what we currently use.

Data
Prevalence

Percentage of times people saw violating content

Content actioned

Number of pieces of violating content we took action on

Proactive rate

Percentage of violating content we found before people reported it

Appealed content

Number of pieces of content people appealed after we took action on it

Restored content

Number of pieces of content we restored after we originally took action on it

Prevalence

Percentage of times people saw violating content

Content actioned

Number of pieces of violating content we took action on

Proactive rate

Percentage of violating content we found before people reported it

Appealed content

Number of pieces of content people appealed after we took action on it

Restored content

Number of pieces of content we restored after we originally took action on it

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.

Warning screens
1
Warning screens in context

We cover certain content in News Feed and other surfaces, so people can choose whether to see it.

2
More information

In this example, we give more context on why we’ve covered the photo with more context from independent fact-checkers

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.

Get help with spam

Learn what you can do if you see something on Facebook that goes against our Community Standards.