Policy details

Change log

CHANGE LOG

Change log

Today

Current version

Feb 29, 2024
May 25, 2023
Aug 25, 2022
Dec 23, 2021
Nov 24, 2021
Sep 30, 2021
Jul 29, 2021
Nov 18, 2020
Dec 16, 2019
Aug 27, 2019
Jul 30, 2019
Jul 1, 2019
Oct 15, 2018
Aug 31, 2018
Jul 27, 2018
May 25, 2018

Policy Rationale

We recognize the importance of Facebook as a place to discuss and draw attention to sexual violence and exploitation. We believe this is an important part of building common understanding and community. In an effort to create space for this conversation and promote a safe environment, we allow victims to share their experiences, but remove content that depicts, threatens or promotes sexual violence, sexual assault, or sexual exploitation. We also remove content that displays, advocates for or coordinates sexual acts with non-consenting parties to avoid facilitating non-consensual sexual acts.

To protect victims and survivors, we remove images that depict incidents of sexual violence and intimate images shared without the consent of the person(s) pictured. As noted in the introduction, we also work with external safety experts to discuss and improve our policies and enforcement around online safety issues, and we may remove content when they provide information that content is linked to harmful activity. We have written about the technology we use to protect against intimate images and the research that has informed our work. We’ve also put together a guide to reporting and removing intimate images shared without your consent.

Do not post:

In instances where content consists of any form of non-consensual sexual touching, necrophilia, or forced stripping, including:

  • Depictions (including real photos/videos except in a real-world art context), or
  • Sharing, offering, asking for or threatening to share imagery, or
  • Descriptions, unless shared by or in support of the victim/survivor, or
  • Advocacy (including aspirational and conditional statements), or
  • Statements of intent, or
  • Calls for action, or
  • Admitting participation, or
  • Mocking victims of any of the above.
  • We will also take down content shared by a third party that identifies victims or survivors of sexual assault when reported by the victim or survivor.

Content that attempts to exploit people by any of the following:

  • Sextortion: Coercing money, favors or intimate imagery from people with threats to expose their intimate imagery or intimate information
  • Sharing, threatening, stating an intent to share, offering or asking for non-consensual intimate imagery that fulfills all of the 3 following conditions:
    • Imagery is non-commercial or produced in a private setting.
    • Person in the imagery is (near) nude, engaged in sexual activity or in a sexual pose.
    • Lack of consent to share the imagery is indicated by meeting any of the signals:
      • Vengeful context (such as, caption, comments or page title).
      • Independent sources (such as, law enforcement record) including entertainment media (such as, leak of images confirmed by media).
      • A visible match between the person depicted in the image and the person who has reported the content to us.
      • The person who reported the content to us shares the same name as the person depicted in the image.
  • Services, applications, or instructions that promote, threaten to share, or offer to make non-real non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), even if there is no (near) nude commercial or non-commercial imagery shared
  • Secretly taken non-commercial imagery of a real person's commonly sexualized body parts (breasts, groin, buttocks, or thighs) or of a real person engaged in sexual activity. This imagery is commonly known as "creepshots" or "upskirts" and includes photos or videos that mock, sexualize or expose the person depicted in the imagery.
  • Threatening or stating an intent to share private sexual conversations that meets the following criteria:
    • Lack of consent is indicated by:
      • Vengeful context and/or threatening context, or
      • A visible match between the person depicted in the image and the person who has reported the content to us.
      • The person who reported the content to us shares the same name as the person depicted in the image.

For the following content, we include a warning screen so that people are aware the content may be disturbing:

Narratives and statements that contain a description of non-consensual sexual touching (written or verbal) that includes details beyond mere naming or mentioning the act if:

  • Shared by the victim, or
  • Shared by a third party (other than the victim) in support of the victim or condemnation of the act or for general awareness to be determined by context/caption.

Content mocking the concept of non-consensual sexual touching

For the following Community Standards, we require additional information and/or context to enforce:

We may restrict visibility to people over the age of 18 and include a warning label on certain content depicting non-consensual sexual touching, when it is shared to raise awareness and without entertainment or sensational context, where the victim or survivor is not identifiable and where the content does not involve nudity.

In addition to our at-scale policy of removing content that threatens or advocates rape or other non-consensual sexual touching, we may also disable the posting account.

We may also enforce on content shared by a third party that identifies survivors of sexual assault when reported by an authorized representative or Trusted Partner.

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.

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 adult sexual exploitation

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