September 2, 2020
Users in markets, including India, Australia, and the US, have received a notification on their Facebook app informing about the update.
Users from India, Australia, and the US have received a notification from Facebook informing about the upcoming update, a new policy which will be implemented on October 1
Facebook informs users about its new terms of service
Facebook has announced to the users about an update in terms of use to “remove or restrict access” any content that could increase any legal or regulatory risks for the company globally. This will be taking place across the Earth starting October 1, contrasting the free speech support that Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg advocated in his latest public statements. Adding to this, the update surfaces amid the current pressure that social media companies, together with Facebook and Twitter, face different governments to police content on their platforms.
Last Tuesday, various users from India, Australia, and the US got a notification in their Facebook app regarding the update that says, “We also can remove or restrict access to your content, services, or information if we determine that doing so is reasonably necessary to avoid or mitigate adverse legal or regulatory impacts to Facebook.” It will be seen under section 3.2 of Facebook’s terms of service starting October 1.
After it revealed the plans about blocking people and news publishers in Australia from sharing news, Facebook pushed the notification about the update through the app. The new change is not limited to the Australian market and will be included in the terms applicable to users globally.
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“This global update provides more flexibility for us to change our services, including in Australia, to continue to operate and support our users in response to potential regulation or legal action,” a Facebook spokesperson noted.
The social media users contradict the change intended by Facebook. This could lead to repressing of content on the platform and gives it the access to pull out any posts that could lead to regulatory or legal risk.
Since the update is in the disparity of Mark Zuckerberg’s public statements that promote Facebook’s free expression, this, however, isn’t the first time when the company is moving towards censoring user content. It recently confronted criticism over limiting and removing anti-government posts in Vietnam.
As Facebook plays a vital role in the November US presidential election, it is the timing of modifying the terms of service. It is also quite interesting. The change would also give authorities from the US and India markets the power to police content, including social media.
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