Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced that it is providing users with more options for political content recommendations and limiting penalties for content violations to persistent offenders only.
In a statement on Dec. 3, Meta acknowledged that harmless content was often mistakenly removed from its platforms during elections worldwide. Nick Clegg, president of global affairs for Meta, stated that the company has been working to update and apply its content policies more fairly to protect users’ freedom of expression.
To address the issue, Meta has introduced political content controls on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, giving users the choice to receive more political content recommendations. The company has also updated its penalties system to ensure that penalties are only applied to users who consistently violate the policy.
Clegg revealed that Meta removed 20 covert influence operations globally this year, with Russia being the primary source followed by Iran and China. Several Russian state media outlets were banned from Meta-owned platforms ahead of the U.S. presidential election due to alleged foreign interference.
Meta will continue to update its moderation policies in the coming months to strike a balance between free expression and protecting users from false information. Clegg emphasized that no platform can guarantee perfection in this regard.
During a press call, Clegg admitted that Meta may have over-enforced its content moderation policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the removal of a large volume of content. Meta became aware of its mistakes after receiving complaints from users whose posts were unfairly removed.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously expressed regret for yielding to pressure from senior officials in the Biden administration to censor certain COVID-19 content in 2021. He stated that Meta would push back against government interference in the future.
Facebook and other Meta-owned platforms rely on third-party fact-checking networks to monitor content containing false information. The oversight board has warned that over-enforcing moderation policies could lead to the excessive removal of political speech.
In a July incident, Facebook apologized for mistakenly censoring a photograph of President-elect Donald Trump after surviving an assassination attempt during a campaign rally.
The article includes contributions from Stephen Katte and Reuters. Could you please rephrase that for me?
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