Meta urged to review its policies on moderation of Persian-language content over Iran's protests

By Team Newsable | First Published Jun 10, 2022, 2:57 PM IST

With the Internet heavily censored in Iran, Instagram has emerged as the primary platform for communication, as it remains unblocked.

Three human rights organisations called on Facebook and Instagram owner Meta to change its policies on Persian-language content about Iran on Thursday, claiming that restrictions had hampered Iranians' ability to exchange information during ongoing protests.

Meta had to alter the restrictions on potentially sensitive content and human and automatic moderation, as per London-based freedom of expression group Article 19, global digital rights group Access Now, and the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).

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With the Internet heavily censored in Iran, Instagram has emerged as the primary platform for communication, as it remains unblocked. Other social media platforms, including Telegram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, are blocked in Iran.

As per the organisations, Instagram "suffers from a lack of trust and transparency" among Persian-language users, and Meta must ensure that "its content moderation practises uphold and protect human rights and freedom of expression."

They added that these concerns were raised during a meeting with a Meta content policy manager.

Protests against Iran's leadership, led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have raged for several weeks, sparked by price increases.

However, activists claim that Meta has removed some content from Instagram documenting the protests, depriving users of a vital source of information about what is happening inside the country.

The temporary suspension earlier this year of the hashtag #IWillLightACandleToo in memory of the victims of Iran's shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner in 2020 sparked outrage.

The statement expressed concern about removing Instagram content containing the protest chant "Death to Khamenei" or similar slogans critical of Iran's leadership.

Meta previously granted a temporary exception for such chants in July 2021 and has now granted exemptions related to Russia's war on Ukraine.

The organisations demanded consistency from Meta, expressing concern that "this lack of nuance causes problematic takedowns of newsworthy protest posts or posts that could help directly or indirectly corroborate human rights abuses."

The groups also demanded "more transparency" on automated processes, such as using media banks for automatic takedowns based on specific phrases, images, or audio.

Concerns were raised "about the oversight of human moderation processes" following allegations in a BBC Persian report that Iranian officials attempted to bribe Persian-language moderators for Meta at a Germany-based content moderation contractor.

Meta denied having ties to the Iranian government at the time and said moderators review a randomised selection of content to see if it violates rules, "removing any room for subjectivity."

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