Meta tightens control of content after Hamas attack

San Jose [US], October 15: Facebook's parent company Meta on Friday said it is taking additional measures against the spread of illegal and misleading content online following the attack by Hamas on Israel.
In the first three days after Hamas fighters carried out massacres last Saturday, the company "removed or marked as disturbing more than 795,000 pieces of content" in Hebrew and Arabic for violating its policies and guidelines, Meta said on Friday.
"As compared to the two months prior, in the three days following October 7, we have removed seven times as many pieces of content on a daily basis for violating our Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy in Hebrew and Arabic alone," Meta said. The company said it was also removing content that clearly identifies hostages kidnapped by Hamas in order to prioritize their safety.
It also restricted "a number of Instagram hashtags" after assessing that content associated with them was found to be consistently violating guidelines. Meta said it was exercising particular caution when it comes to Facebook and Instagram Live as Hamas has threatened to show hostages on those platforms. The company said it put restrictions in place for some users who have previously violated the company's policies.
On Wednesday, EU Commissioner Thierry Breton said he wanted to be informed immediately about details of the measures Facebook had taken to curb harmful content.
Source: Qatar Tribune