Mark Zuckerberg at a Senate hearing/Reuters
Meta's supervisory committee, an independent body that oversees the company, dropped a bombshell today (Tuesday): cancel the blanket ban on the Arabic word "martyr".
The call comes after a year-long review, in which it was determined that the company's approach was "too broad" and "unnecessarily suppressed the freedom of expression of millions of users."
The committee also determined that the social media giant must remove posts containing the word "martyr" only when they are linked to clear signs of violence or if they violate the policy rules in some other way.
It is important to mention that the use of social networks by terrorists is on the rise, and these have not only become a tool for spreading propaganda and false information, but also an arena for statements of malicious intent.
More than once, murderous attacks were preceded by posts from the terrorists, posing a significant challenge to the security forces, in which they expressed their desire to become martyrs, as a sort of "last will".
However, Meta's supervisory board reached conclusions and stated that Meta's rules regarding "martyr" do not take into account the "many meanings of the word and caused the removal of content that was not intended to glorify violent acts."
Also, according to the council, "society describes the word martyr as a respectable term, which is used in many communities and across cultures, religions and languages. The word refers to a person who died unexpectedly, such as in an accident, or honorably, such as in war."
Now, Meta is required to respond to the ruling within 60 days.
Escorting a terrorist in the Gaza Strip.
Will the ban on the word "martyr" be lifted?/Reuters
The demand comes after years of criticism of the company's handling of content related to the Middle East, including a 2021 study that Meta itself commissioned, which found that its approach allegedly had a "negative human rights impact" on Palestinians and other Arabic-speaking users of its services.
These criticisms have intensified since the outbreak of the war on October 7.
"Metta has operated under the assumption that censorship can and will improve safety, but the evidence suggests that censorship can disenfranchise entire populations while not improving safety at all," Helen Thorning-Schmidt, co-chair of the oversight board, said in a statement.
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Meta response:
"We want people to be able to use our platforms to share their views, and we have policies that help them do so safely. We strive to apply our policies fairly, but when doing it at scale - there are global challenges. That's why in February 2023 we asked to have the The Supervisory Council's guidance on how we refer to the word 'martyr' in the context of prohibited people or organizations. We will examine the Supervisory Council's feedback, and we will respond within 60 days."
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