Facebook Outlines Several Upcoming Changes to the Its Monetization Policies and Brand Safety Controls, Being Implemented As A Result Of Civil Rights Audit

The world’s largest social media platform, Facebook, has outlined several upcoming changes to the company’s monetization policies and brand safety controls. These changes are being implemented as a result of Facebook’s civil rights audit which was published recently. The new changes being introduced will include an audit of the company’s partner as well as content monetization policies. The Media Rating Council will conduct this audit, and furthermore, the company will also review its policies around hate speech across the platform, in conjunction with the Global Alliance for Responsible Media.

Recently, the company released its civil rights audit which was conducted over the past 2 years. In the civil rights audit, significant concerns were discovered in Facebook’s approach, particularly about political speech across the platform. Although the new changes will not address those issues, they will touch on many other key areas.

The new measures include an evaluation of the development as well as enforcement of Facebook’s Partner Monetization Policies. The company will also evaluate how content monetization policies enforce the 4A’s/GARM Brand Suitability Framework. Furthermore, it will also be evaluated how those policies comply with the Standards of MRC for Brand Safety.

Facebook will assess the company’s ability to apply brand safety controls to advertisements displayed within publisher content. The new changes include participation in the Global Alliance for Responsible Media of the World Federation of Advertisers to align on brand safety standards as well as definitions.

The company will also determine the accuracy of its available reporting in the above-mentioned areas. Facebook plans to report progress on the overall process by mid of August 2020. The new changes will help the social media giant to make sure that the company’s policies are more inclusive, and they are aligned with concerns raised by the industry as well as advocacy groups. Additionally, the company also announced that it will publish its Community Standards Enforcement Report quarterly. Facebook also stated that it will hold sessions with industry bodies to offer further insight into how Facebook’s teams operate to review content across the platform and enforce Facebook’s Community Standards.

Furthermore, the company also ran an information session last week on the value of increasing diverse representation in content. Although the company needs to do more in this aspect, it appears that Facebook is taking steps to address key areas of concerns raised by industry and advocacy groups.


Photo: Greg Bulla

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