Meta's Oversight Board is currently seeking public comments on its approach to moderating hate speech on its platforms, particularly regarding how content criticizing state actions may be handled when nationality-based criminal allegations are involved. This follows several recent decisions where Meta removed posts that targeted individuals based on nationality, such as comments about Israelis and Indians being labeled as criminals.
The Board has urged Meta to refine its policies to better distinguish between speech criticizing state actions and hate speech targeting individuals based on nationality. One of the key suggestions is allowing political speech that critiques state actors like police, military, or government officials, especially when addressing serious crimes or human rights violations. They are also considering introducing clearer linguistic signals, such as whether a post uses words like "all" to generalize about a nationality, to help make these distinctions clearer.
Meta is looking for scalable solutions to balance freedom of expression while preventing harm against targeted groups. The public can now weigh in on these issues as Meta works to improve its hate speech moderation process.
For more details on the cases and the Board's recommendations, you can read their recent updates on the Oversight Board's website.