The recent string of headlines, about Facebook
and its wavering decision on allowing graphic beheading videos, have
been somewhat perturbing. My question : Is there any moral compass influencing these flip flop decisions?
I am starting to think 'No this has nothing to do with moral values and everything to do with Facebook's business savvy and their fear of losing customers'. Here are some of those confusing headlines, now you can decide for yourself.
Facebook U-turn after charities criticise decapitation videos (BBC World-May 1, 2013)
Facebook has said it will delete videos of people being decapitated which had been spread on its site.
"We will remove instances of these videos that are reported
to us while we evaluate our policy and approach to this type of
content," it said. (Full story)Outrage erupts over Facebook's decision on graphic videos (CNN Money-October 23, 2013)
Facebook has stirred up a storm with a controversial decision to lift a ban on violent videos, including beheadings. A temporary ban on graphic content was imposed in May following complaints about videos which depicted people being decapitated. Facebook removed the reported videos and said it was reviewing its policy on this type of graphic content. Now the company has relaxed its stance. It will allow violent content such as beheadings to be published, provided the intent is to raise awareness rather than celebrate violence. (Full Story)
Facebook removes beheading video, updates violent images standards (NBC News-Oct. 23,2013)
Facebook Inc removed a video of a woman being beheaded from its website
on Tuesday and said it would use a broader set of criteria to
determine when gory videos are permitted on the site. The move came a day after a public outcry over news reports that
Facebook, the world's No. 1 social network with 1.15 billion members,
had lifted a temporary ban on images of graphic violence. (Full Story)
Facebook defends allowing beheadings footage to continue (BBC World-November 19, 2013)
Facebook
will continue to
allow users to show footage of beheadings as long as it is posted in
"the right context", MPs have heard. The social network site has been
criticised for allowing such
images to be shown, amid warnings they could cause psychological
damage. Facebook's UK and Ireland policy director Simon Milner said the
footage could expose human rights abuses. There would also be "more
prior warnings" on content, he added. But the Incorporated Society of
British Advertisers (ISBA) accused Facebook of lacking a sense of
"responsibility". The US-based company introduced a temporary ban on
decapitation clips in May, but announced last month that it believed
users should be free to watch them. (Full Story)
What do you think now?
