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.
Inauthentic Behavior
Policy details
Change log
CHANGE LOG
Change log
Today
Current version
Apr 25, 2022
Dec 17, 2020
Nov 7, 2019
Oct 10, 2019
Policy Rationale
Do not:
- Use multiple Facebook accounts or share accounts between multiple people
- Misuse Facebook or Instagram reporting systems to harass others
- Conceal a Page’s purpose by misleading users about the ownership or control of that Page
- Engage in or claim to engage in inauthentic behavior, which is defined as the use of Facebook or Instagram assets (accounts, Pages, Groups, or Events), to mislead people or Facebook:
- About the identity, purpose, or origin of the entity that they represent.
- About the popularity of Facebook or Instagram content or assets.
- About the purpose of an audience or community.
- About the source or origin of content.
- To evade enforcement under our Community Standards.
For the following Community Standards, we require additional information and/or context to enforce:
- We do not allow entities to engage in, or claim to engage in Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior, defined as the use of multiple Facebook or Instagram assets, working in concert to engage in Inauthentic Behavior (as defined above), where the use of fake accounts is central to the operation
- We do not allow entities to engage in, or claim to engage in foreign or government interference, which is Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior conducted on behalf of a foreign or government actor.
- We do not allow governments that have instituted sustained blocks of social media to use their official departments, agencies, and embassies to deny the use of force or violent events in the context of an attack against the territorial integrity of another state in violation of Article 2(4) of the UN charter.
User experiencesSee 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.
DataContent actioned decreased from 39.5 million pieces of content in Q1 2020 to 35.7 million in Q2 2020, as a result of temporary workforce changes due to COVID-19. Our proactive rate remained similar across both quarters.
Accounts actioned
Number of pieces of violating accounts we took action on
Proactive rate
Percentage of violating accounts we found before people reported it
Accounts actioned
Number of pieces of violating accounts we took action on
Proactive rate
Percentage of violating accounts we found before people reported 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.
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 inauthentic behaviorLearn what you can do if you see something on Facebook that goes against our Community Standards.
