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 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.
Post Describing an Experience with Ketamine as a Medical Treatment
UPDATED
AUG 17, 2023
2023-010-IG-MR
Today, the Oversight Board selected a case referred by Meta regarding an Instagram post describing a user’s experience with ketamine for the medical treatment of anxiety and depression by medical professionals. The user praises their experience, describing the altered mental state they entered as a result of the substance as well as their support for the use of psychedelics in treating mental health conditions.
Meta determined that this content did not violate our policy on Restricted Goods and Services, as laid out in our Instagram Community Guidelines and Facebook Community Standards and left the content up.
Meta referred this case to the board because we found it significant and difficult as it creates tension between our values of safety, voice and dignity.
While Meta typically does not allow content that “admits to personal use” or “promotes” non-medical drugs (the definition for which includes substances “used to achieve a high” or altered mental state), we allow for broader discussion as it relates to pharmaceutical drugs which are defined as “drugs that require a prescription or medical professionals to administer.” These two definitions in our policies can conflict when a drug is legally administered by medical professionals for treating mental illness in which an altered mental state can be a goal. In this instance, we determined the admission and promotion of ketamine use as a medically-administered pharmaceutical is allowed because it is in line with our overall policy of promoting discussion about medical treatment.
We will implement the board’s decision once it has finished deliberating, and we will update this post accordingly. Please see the board’s website for the decision when they issue it.
Case decision
We welcome the Oversight Board’s decision today on this case. The board overturned Meta’s original decision to maintain the content on Instagram. Meta will act to comply with the board's decision and remove the content within 7 days.
After conducting a review of the recommendations provided by the board in addition to their decision, we will update this page.
