Facebook Failing To Remove Illegal Extremist And Pornographic Content, The Times Report Claims
Social media giant Facebook could face criminal prosecution for not taking down potentially illegal content even after it was told to do so, news reports say.
The Times is accusing Facebook of failing to remove a number of posts that contained illegal content even after being told to do so, Reuters reports. The posts reportedly promoted extremist and jihadist behavior, and child pornography.
The Times created a fake account and discovered posted images and videos that were promoting, supporting or glorifying the Islamic State and lauding deadly attacks in London and Egypt. It also found disturbing content featuring graphic images of child abuse. The newspaper then asked the social media giant to take the content down.
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Facebook moderators responding to the request took down some of the images that were reported. Jihadists posts praising attacks and posts calling for new attacks were reportedly left, however, and were taken down only after The Times informed the social network giant that it was writing a story about the issue.
QC Julian Knowles, who reviewed the flagged content, said Facebook could face charges for failing to remove the said content even after it was told to do so.
"In my view, many of the images and videos identified by The Times are illegal," Knowles told The Times. "One video appears to depict a sexual assault on a child. That would undoubtedly breach UK indecency laws. The video showing a beheading is very likely to be a publication that encourages terrorism."
Not the first time
Facebook has long been under siege for its process in removing inappropriate content, CNET notes. While the social network has been working to put up safety features that will help ensure that only appropriate content are allowed, holes still remain.
This is not the first time Facebook failed to take down inappropriate content following an investigation. Last month, BBC conducted a similar investigation and discovered secret groups used by paedophiles to share lewd photos of "under-16s in highly sexualized poses."
BBC reported 100 images to Facebook's moderators, but only a few were taken down. Instead, Facebook reported BBC to the police. It did take the content down after some time, however.
A favorable response
Facebook's VP for global operations, Justin Osofsky, apologized for the inappropriate content.
"We are grateful to The Times for bringing this content to our attention," Osofsky told The Times. "We are sorry that this occurred. It is clear that we can do better, and we'll continue to work hard to live up to the high standards people rightly expect of Facebook."
