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Why Did Facebook Remove Your Post? This Doc Might Help

Meanwhile, the social network is also, for the first time, now giving users the right to appeal its decisions on individual posts.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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Ever wonder how Facebook decides what—and who—to remove from its platform?

Wonder no more because the social network just published the lengthy "Community Standards" its reviewers use to determine what is and isn't allowed on Facebook.

The standards are broken down into six categories: Violence and criminal behavior, safety, objectionable content, integrity and authenticity, respecting intellectual property, and content-related requests. They outline how Facebook deals with everything from threats of violence to suicide, self-injury, child porn and sexual exploitation, nudity, bullying, harassment, hate speech, and more.

The move to publish these once internal guidelines comes after The Guardian last year obtained and posted snippets of the company's exhaustive and sometimes contradictory rules.

Facebook's VP of Global Policy Management Monika Bickert said the company is now going public with this information to "help people understand where we draw the line on nuanced issues" and as a way to solicit feedback on how it can improve its guidelines. Next month, the company plans to launch a series of public events in the US, UK, Germany, France, India, and Singapore called "Facebook Forums: Community Standards" to get people's feedback in person.

Facebook relies on artificial intelligence technology and reports from users to identify posts, photos, and other content that may violate its standards. Upon receiving a report, a member of the company's 24/7 Community Operations team reviews the content in question to determine whether or not it should be taken down. Facebook currently employs more than 7,500 content reviewers.

Bickert acknowledged that Facebook's reviewers sometimes make the wrong decision.

"In some cases, we make mistakes because our policies are not sufficiently clear to our content reviewers; when that's the case, we work to fill those gaps," she wrote. "More often than not, however, we make mistakes because our processes involve people, and people are fallible."

Meanwhile, Facebook is now, for the first time, giving users the right to appeal its decisions on individual posts. This way, if the company removes your post and you think it made a mistake in doing so, you can ask for a second opinion.

At this point, you will only be able to ask for an appeal for posts removed for nudity/sexual activity, hate speech, or graphic violence. If Facebook removes something you posted for one of those reasons, it will notify you about the action and give you the option to request an additional review. Within 24 hours of initiating an appeal you should know whether Facebook plans to restore your content, or keep it off the platform for good.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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