High-profile videos involving the police and the black community have put a spotlight on the mess that is Facebook’s censorship policies. We’ve put together the FAQ Facebook lacks to help you understand how, when and why you’re being censored.
Facebook cut her off.
Gaines wasn’t the first black person to post about a run-in with the police. Others include Philando Castile, whose fiancee in July streamed live video on Facebook as he lay dying after a police officer shot him. A few days later, a protestor streamed a sniper attack on Dallas police on the social network.
But her clash marked a turning point in the conversation about Facebook’s role in empowering speech. That’s because her friends watching did more than just watch: They urged her not to acquiesce.
Facebook temporarily shut down Gaines’ account at the request of the police. It came right before officers opened fire, killing her and striking her 5-year-old son.
The decision put a spotlight on another Facebook activity: its routine censorship of users.
Mark Zuckerberg’s company has teams of people working in offices around the world — Austin, Texas; Dublin, Ireland; Hyderabad, India; and its Menlo Park, California, headquarters — who process millions of reports a week.
Facebook doesn’t disclose how many times people post, how many live videos are streamed or how many posts it’s deleted. The company has said it’s responded to about 20,000 law enforcement requests over a five-month period last year.
Activists say Facebook needs to more clearly spell out policies, particularly after what happened with Gaines.
