Meta paves way for hate speech, violence against LGBTQ+ community
The world is witnessing a widespread rollback of LGBTQ+ protections, from the gutting of diversity initiatives at major corporations to the elimination of trans-affirming healthcare in clinics and hospitals across the United States—and now, Meta paves the way for hate speech and violence.
Meta announced Tuesday that it has removed and altered several sections of its Hateful Conduct Policy, reducing safety protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, people of color, women, immigrants, and other protected groups. The changes come alongside news that Meta is ending its fact-checking program.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a video that the company will be restoring free expression in their platforms and that they “will allow more speech by lifting restrictions on some topics that are part of mainstream discourse and focusing our enforcement on illegal and high-severity violations.”
These updates permit anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and remove safeguards protecting LGBTQ+ users from targeted attacks. The policy now allows for words like “transgenderism” (a derogatory term implying trans identity is an ideology).
Meta has also removed clauses prohibiting the following: “the usage of slurs that are used to attack people on the basis of their protected characteristics” and “Self-admission to intolerance on the basis of protected characteristics, including but not limited to: homophobic, islamophobic, racist.”
Fairness Campaign Executive Director Chris Hartman said that Mark Zuckerberg has made the unconscionable decision to remove long-standing industry standard protections against hate speech.
“Today they are opening the door for marginalized communities to come under attack on Meta’s platforms, creating an unsafe environment for many queer people who rely on digital platforms to create community, particularly in rural areas,” he said.
For a full breakdown of the policy changes that will affect marginalized communities, see GLAAD’s full safety report.
