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Change log
Change log
Current version
We believe that people use their voice and connect more freely when they don’t feel attacked on the basis of who they are. That is why we don’t allow hate speech on Facebook. It creates an environment of intimidation and exclusion, and in some cases may promote offline violence.
We define hate speech as a direct attack against people — rather than concepts or institutions— on the basis of what we call protected characteristics: race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity and serious disease. We define attacks as violent or dehumanizing speech, harmful stereotypes, statements of inferiority, expressions of contempt, disgust or dismissal, cursing and calls for exclusion or segregation. We also prohibit the use of harmful stereotypes, which we define as dehumanizing comparisons that have historically been used to attack, intimidate, or exclude specific groups, and that are often linked with offline violence. We consider age a protected characteristic when referenced along with another protected characteristic. We also protect refugees, migrants, immigrants and asylum seekers from the most severe attacks, though we do allow commentary and criticism of immigration policies. Similarly, we provide some protections for characteristics like occupation, when they’re referenced along with a protected characteristic. Sometimes, based on local nuance, we consider certain words or phrases as frequently used proxies for PC groups.
We also prohibit the usage of slurs that are used to attack people on the basis of their protected characteristics. However, we recognize that people sometimes share content that includes slurs or someone else's hate speech to condemn it or raise awareness. In other cases, speech, including slurs, that might otherwise violate our standards can be used self-referentially or in an empowering way. Our policies are designed to allow room for these types of speech, but we require people to clearly indicate their intent. If the intention is unclear, we may remove content.
Tier 1
Content targeting a person or group of people (including all groups except those who are considered non-protected groups described as having carried out violent crimes or sexual offenses or representing less than half of a group) on the basis of their aforementioned protected characteristic(s) or immigration status with:
Tier 2
Content targeting a person or group of people on the basis of their protected characteristic(s) with:
Tier 3
Content targeting a person or group of people on the basis of their protected characteristic(s) with any of the following:
Content that describes or negatively targets people with slurs, where slurs are defined as words that inherently create an atmosphere of exclusion and intimidation against people on the basis of a protected characteristic, often because these words are tied to historical discrimination, oppression, and violence. They do this even when targeting someone who is not a member of the PC group that the slur inherently targets.
Do not post:
In certain cases, we will allow content that may otherwise violate the Community Standards when it is determined that the content is satirical. Content will only be allowed if the violating elements of the content are being satirized or attributed to something or someone else in order to mock or criticize them.
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.
Percentage of times people saw violating content
Number of pieces of violating content we took action on
Percentage of violating content we found before people reported it
Number of pieces of content people appealed after we took action on it
Number of pieces of content we restored after we originally took action on it
Percentage of times people saw violating content
Number of pieces of violating content we took action on
Percentage of violating content we found before people reported it
Number of pieces of content people appealed after we took action on it
Number of pieces of content we restored after we originally took action on it
We have an option to report, whether it’s on a post, a comment, a story, a message or something else.
We help people report things that they don’t think should be on our platform.
We ask people to tell us more about what’s wrong. This helps us send the report to the right place.
After these steps, we submit the report. We also lay out what people should expect next.
After we’ve reviewed the report, we’ll send the reporting user a notification.
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.
If people think we got the decision wrong, they can request another review.
We’ll send a final response after we’ve re-reviewed the content, again to the Support Inbox.
When someone posts something that doesn't follow our rules, we’ll tell them.
We’ll also address common misperceptions and explain why we made the decision to enforce.
We’ll give people easy-to-understand explanations about the relevant rule.
If people disagree with the decision, they can ask for another review and provide more information.
We set expectations about what will happen after the review has been submitted.
We cover certain content in News Feed and other surfaces, so people can choose whether to see it.
In this example, we give more context on why we’ve covered the photo with more context from independent fact-checkers
We have the same policies around the world, for everyone on Facebook.
Our global team of over 15,000 reviewers work every day to keep people on Facebook safe.
Outside experts, academics, NGOs and policymakers help inform the Facebook Community Standards.
Learn what you can do if you see something on Facebook that goes against our Community Standards.