Facebook Speech Policy change alarms UN

SWITZERLAND: The United Nations has expressed alarm over Facebook’s decision to temporarily ease its policy on violent speech after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, warning it could spark “hate speech” against Russians.

The policy decision from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said the platforms would now allow statements like “death to Russian invaders” but not credible threats against civilians.

“This is clearly a very, very complex issue, but it does raise some concerns under the terms of human rights law and international humanitarian law,” UN rights office spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssell told reporters in Geneva.

In its statement Thursday, Meta pointed to the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on Feb 24.

“We have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders’,” it said. It added that it “still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians”.

Throssell warned that the new policy lacked clarity, which “could certainly contribute to hate speech directed at Russians in general”. “That would be really concerning,” she said, adding that the UN rights office planned to raise its concerns with Meta. THE BANGKOK POST