Meta’s Controversial Move: Allowing Harmful Labels About LGBTQ+ Communities

Today, Meta revealed a series of significant modifications to its content moderation policies, which include terminating its fact-checking collaborations and “eliminating” restrictions on discussions surrounding “issues such as immigration, gender identity, and gender,” which the organization identifies as prevalent topics of political dialogue and debate. “It’s inappropriate that statements can be made on television or within Congress but not on our platforms,” stated Meta’s newly appointed chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, in a blog post outlining the revisions.

In a related video, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg characterized the company’s existing regulations in these domains as “simply disconnected from mainstream discourse.”

Simultaneously with this announcement, the company implemented several updates to its Community Guidelines, an extensive compilation of rules defining which types of content are forbidden on Meta’s platforms, including Instagram, Threads, and Facebook. Among the most notable alterations were made to Meta’s “Hateful Conduct” policy, which pertains to debates on immigration and gender.

In a significant transformation, the organization now states it accepts “claims of mental illness or abnormality when related to gender or sexual orientation, given the political and religious discussions surrounding transgender issues and homosexuality and the prevalent non-serious usage of terms such as ‘weird.’”

In other terms, it appears Meta now allows users to allege that transgender or gay individuals are mentally ill due to their gender expression and sexual orientation. The company did not provide clarification when asked about this policy.

Meta spokesperson Corey Chambliss informed WIRED that these constraints will be relaxed internationally. When inquired whether the company will adopt distinct policies in nations with stringent regulations on hate speech, Chambliss pointed to Meta’s existing guidelines regarding local laws.

Other notable alterations made to Meta’s Hateful Conduct policy on Tuesday encompass:

• Eliminating wording that prohibits content targeting individuals based on their “protected characteristics,” which include race, ethnicity, and gender identity, when coupled with “allegations that they possess or disseminate the coronavirus.” Absent this clause, it may now be permissible to accuse, for instance, Chinese individuals of being responsible for the Covid-19 outbreak.
• A new provision seems to create space for individuals who wish to express opinions on matters such as women not being permitted to serve in the military or men not being allowed to teach math based on their gender. Meta now allows content advocating for “gender-specific restrictions in military, law enforcement, and teaching occupations. We similarly allow this content in relation to sexual orientation, when the content stems from religious convictions.”
• Another update clarifies what Meta allows regarding conversations on social exclusion. It now indicates that “individuals occasionally employ sex- or gender-exclusive terminology when discussing access to areas often restricted by sex or gender, such as access to restrooms, particular educational institutions, specific military, law enforcement, or teaching positions, and health or support groups.” Previously, this exception was applicable solely for discussions about gender-restricted health and support groups.
• Previously, Meta’s Hateful Conduct policy began by stating that hateful speech may “encourage offline violence.” That sentence, which had been included in the policy since 2019, has been removed in the updated version released on Tuesday. (In 2018, following reports from human rights organizations, Meta acknowledged that its platform was used to incite violence against religious minorities in Myanmar.) The revision maintains language at the bottom of the policy that prohibits content that could “instigate imminent violence or intimidation.”