VOA慢速英语--Facebook公开其完整内容指南

Facebook published detailed¹ guidelines Tuesday for what users can and cannot post on the social media service.

Earlier this month, lawmakers called on Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg to appear in Congress. They demanded that his company take more steps to protect the privacy of its users. Some even raised the possibility of regulating the social media service.

Most of the newly-announced guidelines - which Facebook calls “Community Standards” – have already been in place. But it is the first time Facebook has publicly shared complete and detailed information about all its restrictions² on user content.

About 7,600 Facebook moderators use the guidelines in examining Facebook content. The employees work in 40 languages. Facebook says its goal is to answer every report of possible content violation³ within 24 hours. Facebook removes material that violates the rules.

In some cases, Facebook employees also contact police or other officials to investigate dangerous situations or possible crimes.

The guidelines for posting content cover many areas. These include hate speech, violent threats or incitement⁴ of violence, self-harm and human trafficking.

Monika Bickert is Head of Global Policy Management at Facebook. She told reporters that the company felt it was important to be more open about its operations and totally clear about its user rules.

“You should, when you come to Facebook, understand where we draw these lines and what’s OK and what’s not OK,” Bickert said. She added that the guidelines themselves are always being reexamined and the latest changes are sent to employees weekly.

The guidelines demonstrate how complex and difficult decisions on restricting content can be. For example, Bickert said there are “community standards” that differ widely in nations across the world.

Another complex issue is how moderators decide how and when expressions of ideas and opinions violate policy.

For example, the Facebook guidelines permit a user to share another person’s hate speech. But only if it is done “for the purpose of raising awareness⁵ or educating others.” Users sharing such content must clearly show such purpose or moderators will remove the content.

Facebook says comments concerning violence must also be carefully examined in an effort to prevent real threats. The guidelines say that many times, people express their disagreement by threatening or calling for violence in “non-serious ways.”

The moderators have to consider “the language, context and details” of posts in order to separate non-serious statements from threatening statements. Facebook says moderators call law enforcement when they believe there is a real risk of physical harm.

In addition to human moderators, Facebook also uses artificial intelligence or AI in an effort to find content violations⁶. Facebook says the machines can help identify some pieces of banned material. But it says they are not equipped to judge the history and context related to it. It is also difficult for AI to correctly identify humor as well as a human can.

Facebook also announced that people will now be permitted to appeal decisions about the removal of individual photos, videos or posts. Until now, appeals could be launched only over the removal of whole accounts, groups or pages. The service is also beginning to provide exact reasons for content removal action.

The new guideline information was released one week after Facebook announced a major change to its privacy settings. The change makes it easier for people to approve or deny the company permission to use different kinds of user data.

“Everyone – no matter where they live – will be asked to review important information about how Facebook uses data and make choices about their privacy on Facebook,” the company said in a post on its website.

Users now will be asked directly whether they want Facebook to block facial recognition, some kinds of targeted advertising⁷ or personal information. The European Union forced the enactment⁸ of those changes. Facebook said its new privacy protections went into effect in Europe last week, but will be extended to users worldwide in the future.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

regulate – v. to make rules or laws that control something

moderator – n. person who monitors or manages public information

awareness – n. feeling, experiencing or noticing of something

context – n. the situation something happens within and that can help explain it

artificial intelligence – n. the ability of a machine to reproduce human behavior

review – v. look at or examine carefully

1 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

4 incitement   

激励； 刺激； 煽动； 激励物

参考例句：

• incitement to racial hatred 种族仇恨的挑起
• Interest is an incitement to study. 兴趣刺激学习。

5 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

6 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

7 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

8 enactment   

n.演出，担任…角色；制订，通过

参考例句：

• Enactment refers to action.演出指行为的表演。
• We support the call for the enactment of a Bill of Rights.我们支持要求通过《权利法案》的呼声。