Facebook has announced that it is introducing new tools to help curb incidents of bullying and harassment online. They will give people better control over “unwanted, offensive or hurtful experiences on Facebook.”
In terms of tools, Facebook is introducing a way for people to hide and delete comments on their posts. Users will be able to be able to batch hide or delete comments after selecting the tool from the options menu on their post. Currently, the feature is rolling out on desktop and Android but will come to iOS too in the coming months. The firm is also testing ways to search for and block offensive words from appearing in the comments section on users’ posts.
Another tool being introduced will allow you to report someone on behalf of someone else who is being harassed or bullied. The option can be found in the menu of the post that you want to report. Facebook’s Community Operations team will then review the post and keep your report anonymous. If it finds the content violates the Community Standards then Facebook will take action.
If any of your content it taken down due to bullying or harassment, you’ll have the chance to request a second review. Additionally, if you reported content and it wasn’t taken down, you’ll also have the opportunity to ask for a second review.
Facebook is also expanding its protections of public figures. Earlier this year, young public figures were given extra protections against harassment, it is now expanding these to all public figures. The firm said:
“In the coming weeks, we will further expand our policies to better protect public figures against harassment regardless of age. For example, severe attacks that directly engage a public figure will not be allowed under the new policy. If anyone experiences unwanted behavior on Facebook, they can report the person who is bullying or harassing them, anonymously ignore unwanted messages, and block someone without them being notified.”
If you’d like to find out more about Facebook’s efforts to combat bullying, be sure to check out its Bullying Prevention Hub.
Source: Facebook