Meta Relaxes Hate Rules, Follows Elon Musk’s Mandate X on Sexual Orientation and Immigration

Meta relaxed its rules on hate speech and abuse, putting X, which is owned by Elon Musk, under scrutiny, particularly on sexual orientation, gender identity and immigration status, and shut down fact-checking on social media platforms, the AP reported.

On Tuesday, CEO of Meta Mark Zuckerberg said the company would “remove restrictions on topics such as immigration and gender that are not relevant to mainstream discourse,” citing reasons such as “the recent election.”

Meta has added a community standards rule to its policy that users must follow.

“We allow accusations of mental illness or abnormality if they are based on gender or sexual orientation, given the political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality, as well as the common frivolous use of words like ‘queer.’

Simply put, Goal allows the labeling of homosexuals as mentally ill on its social media platforms, such as Facebook, Threads and Instagram, the AP reported. According to Meta, “harmful stereotypes historically associated with bullying,” which include words like blackface or Holocaust denial, are still banned.

Meta, in Menlo Park, Calif., has removed a line from its “policy rationale” explaining why it restricts certain hateful activities. The deleted sentence states that hate speech “creates an environment of intimidation and alienation, and in some cases may contribute to offline violence,” the report said.

Why did this change happen?

“The policy change is a tactic to curry favor with the new administration and reduce the business costs of content moderation,” Ben Leiner, a professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business who studies political and technology trends, told the AP.

“This decision will cause real harm not only in the United States, where there has been a surge of hate and misinformation on social media platforms, but also abroad, where misinformation on Facebook has fueled ethnic conflict (as) in places like Myanmar“, – added Leiner.

In 2018, Meta admitted that it had failed to prevent its platform from being used to incite offline violence in Myanmar, promoting hatred and violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

While more attention was paid to the company’s fact-checking announcement on Tuesday, changes in Meta’s policy on harmful content are troubling, Arturo Bejar, a former Meta CTO known for his expertise in combating online harassment, told the AP.

He said Meta would rely more on user reports before taking any action, rather than proactively enforcing strict rules against issues such as self-harm, bullying and harassment. The new policy is therefore worrying.

Meta said it plans to focus its automated systems on “combating illegal and serious violations such as terrorism, child sexual exploitation, drugs, fraud and fraud.”

“Meta knows that by the time the report is submitted and reviewed, the content will cause more damage,” Bejar said.

“I shudder to think what these changes will mean for our youth. Meta abdicates responsibility for safety and we don’t know the impact of these changes because Meta refuses to be transparent about the harm teenagers are experiencing and they go into emergency mode. long to dilute or stop legislation that could help,” he added.