What does the turnaround mean for us?

As of yesterday, changes to the guidelines against hateful behavior in the USA came into force.

Yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook and head of the parent company Meta, announced via a video on Instagram that they wanted to forgo fact checks on their own social platforms in the future.

Zuckerberg wants to change Facebook, Instagram and Threads along the lines of X (formerly Twitter). The report has been hotly debated ever since.

That’s why this is important: Three months before the 2016 American presidential election, a lot of fake news was circulating on social media. Fake news alone that favored then-candidate Donald Trump was shared over 30 million times.

After Donald Trump’s election victory in 2016 and the associated debate about the deliberate spread of false news and the responsibility of social media, Meta tried to limit fake news and hate speech on its own platforms. These efforts will not be continued in the future.

According to Zuckerberg, fact checks were not politically neutral

In the video, Zuckerberg speaks of “free speech,” “simpler rules,” and “fewer restrictions.” In this context, these are right-wing populist terms that X owner Musk also uses again and again.

Zuckerberg’s main concern is to dismantle the supposedly prevailing censorship that, according to “governments” and “old media,” exists. The reason he gives is that the fact checks on Facebook etc. were not politically neutral. This leaves future users to decide what is true and what is not.

The changes are already taking effect in the USA. In the future, the moderation team would only deal with spam and serious violations of the usage guidelines. The team will also be relocated from California to Texas, where there are “fewer concerns about political bias.”

Link to Instagram content

Changes to policies against hateful behavior in the US

According to Zuckerberg, they want to roll out new and changed guidelines little by little. This has already begun in the USA.

Since yesterday, by adding the following two paragraphs to the guidelines against hateful behavior, it has been possible to say, for example, that homosexuals and trans people are mentally ill.

Other changes according to Wired include:

• Language that prohibits content from associating people based on race or gender identity with claims about the spread of the coronavirus has been removed. It is now allowed to blame Chinese people for the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Discussions about social exclusion are permitted. Exclusive and gender-specific language is now accepted when it comes to access to gender-restricted areas such as toilets, schools, certain military, police or teaching roles, and health or support groups.
• The guidelines began in 2019 with a note that hateful speech can promote “offline violence.” This statement has disappeared.

What do these changes mean for us?

Meta’s changes to “free speech” are currently only coming into effect in the USA. Other countries are to follow. The extent to which Meta’s new course will affect Germany and Europe remains to be seen, especially because European and German law differs significantly from American law in some respects.

For example, in America this applies Freedom of speechwhich is traditionally interpreted very broadly. This means that in America, for example, statements can be made that would be punishable in other countries such as Germany, for example because they constitute the criminal offense of sedition.

In Germany, the protection protected by the Basic Law applies Freedom of expression. Accordingly, everyone in Germany has the right to freely express their opinion, as long as it does not violate other laws such as the criminal offense of incitement to hatred or defamation.

X allegedly violates EU law

In addition, the DSA (Digital Services Act) – also known as the Digital Services Act – has been in effect at EU level since 2023. This regulation makes platforms of all sizes responsible for taking independent action against illegal content.

The EU Commission spokesman for digital affairs, Thomas Regnier, has already commented on Meta’s new plans. He warns against ending the fake checker program in the EU and adds:

However, it remains to be seen how successfully the DSA will be implemented in practice. As early as mid-2024, the EU Commission determined that Elon Musk’s Platform X probably violated the new regulation and opened ongoing proceedings against the billionaire and his platform. It is still unclear whether Musk has to and will pay.