Facebook: New guidelines in the fight against bullying

Further protective measures
Facebook wants to crack down on online bullying

The tone on social media is getting rougher – whether on political issues or dog training: users on Facebook, Instagram and Co. have to be prepared for the fact that a wave of indignation can break through them.

Facebook, Instagram and Co .: The tone is becoming more and more aggressive

It is not uncommon for influencers to express concern, given the high potential for aggression behind some of the comments and messages. They are forbidden to speak, they are turned around in their mouths, they are insulted, insulted, and all of this under the guise of freedom of expression. There has long been no trace of a certain netiquette.

The most recent example is a recent post by Louisa Dellert, best known as a politics and sustainability influencer. She made it clear: It cannot go on like this. She is always more insecure when she opens Instagram. Which topics can you still talk about without risking a shit storm? The consequence: she will no longer comment on some topics and thus give you neither a platform nor a reach. Absolutely correct and understandable with regard to the protection of one’s own personality, but was that actually the goal behind all this criticism?

Facebook wants to take action against online bullying

Facebook now wants to declare war on online bullying. The online company in the criticism will tighten the guidelines according to its own information. Users who are particularly at risk, such as victims of violence or critics of the government, are to be protected from “mass bullying and intimidation” through coordinated action by other users.

According to the group, the intimidation strategies should also be prevented if the content itself does not violate the Facebook guidelines. The online giant would also like to improve the protection of well-known users such as politicians, celebrities and artists.

Facebook will delete content with “degrading or sexualised” content

Content with “degrading or sexualized” attacks should be deleted. Examples should be filtered out photos that have been edited with programs such as Photoshop and provided with sexual messages or disparaging remarks.

The protection should also apply to those who do not willingly appear in public, such as activists or journalists. In such cases, women, PoCs and members of the queer community are often affected by bullying.

Facebook is currently under severe criticism

After the revelations by whistleblower Fances Haugen, the company is under pressure. Just a few days ago they presented new functions that are supposed to protect young people from high media consumption and bad content. It is not yet known when these new features will appear – nor how Facebook will actually implement the anti-bullying campaign.

Sources used: zeit.de

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