How Facebook decides what to take down

Have you ever had something pop up on your Facebook news feed that you wish you hadn't seen? Source: News Corp Australia

WITH 1.35 billion people checking into Facebook every month, there's bound to be some things that pop up on your news feed that you'd rather not see.

The social media site has the difficult job of being a place where people can feel free to share their views, likes and dislikes, but also respect the myriad of cultures and values held by its global audience. What one person may find hilarious, others may find deeply offensive.

An Australian mother opened a can of worms surrounding Facebook censorship after complaining that photographs of her giving birth had been removed from the site.

Milli Hill, who is shown naked in the pictures, campaigns for positive depictions of childbirth and said Facebook had censored her "powerful female images".

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This prompted news.com.au to ask its Facebook followers whether they thought the site responded to offensive material effectively.

We received nearly 700 Facebook comments and emails that revealed users had mixed experiences.

Some were satisfied with the site's prompt removal of offensive material, while others were left confused when content that they thought was abhorrent was found not to breach Facebook standards.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW.

We asked our readers whether they were satisfied with how Facebook responded to complaints about offensive content. Source: News Limited

Our readers provided examples of content that they had reported, that was investigated and deemed acceptable. They included:

● A pornographic cartoon

● An animal cruelty video

● A video that showing a sex act

● An image of a man holding the decapitated head of someone else

● Graphic photos of a dead baby

● A photograph of a man pointing a gun at the head of a baby

● A comment that Tony Abbott should be assassinated

● A video of a teenager being beaten senseless.

While she was unable to comment on these specific cases, Facebook's Australian spokeswoman said the site worked hard to create a safe and respectful place for sharing and connection.

"This requires us to make difficult decisions and balance concerns about free expression and community respect," she told news.com.au.

"We prohibit content deemed to be directly harmful, but allow content that is offensive or controversial. We define harmful content as anything organising real world violence, theft, or property destruction, or that directly inflicts emotional distress on a specific private individual, eg bullying.

"Sometimes people encounter content on Facebook that they disagree with or find objectionable but that do not violate our community standards."

Facebook has specialised staffers who work to review content that has been reported by users. Source: Getty Images

Many readers objected to videos or images of animal cruelty, but Facebook considers the context in which the video was posted before taking it down. This type of content is often posted to condemn it or galvanise people into action in order to stop it. If so, that material is allowed.

Similarly, the self-regulating nature of the Facebook community can be more effective than Facebook staffers because people can pressure their friends to remove content through their comments.

"Facebook receives hundreds of thousands of reports every week and, as you might expect, occasionally we make a mistake and remove a piece of content we shouldn't have or mistakenly fail to remove a piece of content that does violate our community standards," the spokeswoman said.

"When this happens, we work quickly to address this by apologising to the people affected and making any necessary changes to our processes to ensure the same type of mistakes do not continue to be made."

Facebook admits that it allows offensive and controversial material to remain on the site, provided that it is not directly harmful. Source: News Limited

While some news.com.au readers were disappointed with Facebook's responses to complaints, many others said they were satisfied.

Reader Michelle said she had reported content several times and each time the offensive page or material was promptly removed, including get-rich-quick spam, sexual content and racist jokes.

Another reader, Cathy, helped to have a number of comments taken down that threatened violence towards Tony Abbott.

Meanwhile, Karen said her experience had also been positive.

"Not that I am a serial complainer either but I have reported material of graphic violence nature, primarily cruelty to animals, and on one occasion something was removed as a result of that feedback," she told news.com.au.

How do I report something offensive?

Every update posted to Facebook carries with it a small arrow in the top right corner that allows users to hide the post or report it.

If a complaint is made, it is then placed in a queue for assessment.

Users can click on the arrow on the top right corner of a post to reveal a drop-down box that allows them to report offensive material to Facebook. Source: Facebook

What does Facebook consider unacceptable?

● Nudity: Photos of breastfeeding or Michelangelo's David are likely to pass the test, however. Milli Hill's childbirth photographs were most likely taken down because of the nudity depicted

● Violence and threats

● Self-harm: "We remove any promotion or encouragement of self-mutilation, eating disorders or hard drug abuse," Facebook says

● Bullying and harassment: Repeatedly targeting users with unwanted friend requests or messages is considered harassment

● Hate speech: "While we encourage you to challenge ideas, institutions, events, and practices, we do not permit individuals or groups to attack others based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability or medical condition," Facebook says

● Graphic content: Some graphic content is considered acceptable if it is shared for the purposes of condemning it, but it should carry a warning. "However, graphic images shared for sadistic effect or to celebrate or glorify violence have no place on our site," Facebook says

● Privacy violations: Claiming to be another person and creating multiple accounts is a no-no

● Copyright infringement

● Selling items illegally

● Phishing and spam

● Fraud or deception.

Views can differ about what content is offensive. Source: News Corp Australia

Who assesses complaints? Are there programs that do it automatically?

All complaints are reviewed by Facebook staffers, and not by any automatic programs.

Complaints are assessed against Facebook's community standards, which govern what material is acceptable on the site.

There are dedicated teams based in the US, Ireland and India, so complaints can be processed around the clock.

More serious material is prioritised, but most reports are reviewed within 72 hours.

Reporting a post does not guarantee it will be removed.

"Because of the diversity of our community, it's possible that something could be disagreeable or disturbing to you without meeting the criteria for being removed or blocked," the Facebook community stands page reads.

You can find out more about how complaints are assessed here.

What can I do if something I find offensive is not taken down?

Facebook also offers personal controls so every user can hide or quietly block people, pages or applications they find offensive.

Facebook has tools for controlling what you see in your news feed, and tools for controlling your Facebook experience generally.

What has your experience been with reporting offensive content to Facebook? Were your satisfied with the response? Comment below or join the conversation on Twitter @newscomauHQ.

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