Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc has clarified on Sunday that it is against the company’s user rules to share a post that “calls for the death of a head of state,” likely a reference to President of Russia Vladimir Putin.
Back to last week, Facebook has temporarily eased its policies so that Ukrainian users could post threats of violence against the Russian military, which invaded its neighbour in late February. The change led to some public confusion about what was allowed and what was not on Facebook and Instagram.
President of Meta’s Global Affairs Nick Clegg has released a statement Friday saying the move is intended to protect Ukrainians’ rights and doesn’t signal tolerance for “discrimination, harassment or violence towards Russians.” On Sunday, he has tried to further explain the company’s stance to employees in an internal post.
As per Clegg wrote in the internal post, “We are narrowing the focus to make it explicitly clear in the guidance that it is never to be interpreted as condoning violence against Russians in general.” He added that the revised policy only applies in Ukraine, and “Only in the context of speech regarding the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.”
Clegg added, though he didn’t mention Putin by name, “We also do not permit calls to assassinate a head of state.”
Russia has halted both Facebook and Instagram in the past two weeks, mentioning Meta’s content policy decisions. Meta previously blocked Russia’s state-backed media accounts in Ukraine and the European Union, and has blocked all advertising from Russia-based businesses.