This article was originally published by QNews. You can find the original article here.
Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta made headlines around the world when it announced it was ditching fact checking this week, but it has also updated its “Hateful Conduct” policy to green-light a range of hate speech towards LGBTQIA+ people.
Meta announced a series of major updates to its content moderation policies on Tuesday, including ending its fact-checking partnerships and “getting rid” of restrictions on offensive speech about “topics like immigration, gender identity and gender” that the company says are frequent subjects of political debate.
“It’s not right that things can be said on TV or the floor of Congress, but not on our platforms,” Meta’s new chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, wrote online earlier this week.
In an accompanying video, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the company’s previous rules in these areas as “just out of touch with mainstream discourse.”
Meta’s new Hateful Conduct policy states that, “we do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like “weird.”
“We do allow content arguing for gender-based limitations of military, law enforcement, and teaching jobs. We also allow the same content based on sexual orientation, when the content is based on religious beliefs.”
“People sometimes use sex- or gender-exclusive language when discussing access to spaces often limited by sex or gender, such as access to bathrooms, specific schools, specific military, law enforcement, or teaching roles, and health or support groups,” the policy explains.
“Other times, they call for exclusion or use insulting language in the context of discussing political or religious topics, such as when discussing transgender rights, immigration, or homosexuality.
“Finally, sometimes people curse at a gender in the context of a romantic break-up. Our policies are designed to allow room for these types of speech.”
The new policy states that content about denying access to spaces and social services “on the basis of their protected characteristics” is not allowed, “except for sex or gender-based exclusion from spaces commonly limited by sex or gender, such as restrooms, sports and sports leagues, health and support groups, and specific schools.”
The move has been condemned by GLAAD (the US Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).
“Zuckerberg’s removal of fact-checking programs and industry-standard hate speech policies make Meta’s platforms unsafe places for users and advertisers alike,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said.
“Without these necessary hate speech and other policies, Meta is giving the green light for people to target LGBTQ people, women, immigrants, and other marginalized groups with violence, vitriol, and dehumanizing narratives.
“With these changes, Meta is continuing to normalize anti-LGBTQ hatred for profit — at the expense of its users and true freedom of expression. Fact-checking and hate speech policies protect free speech.”
