Lithuania prompts Meta to restrict 10 Facebook Reels posts

Lithuania's Radio and Television Commission (LRTK) has successfully prompted Meta to take action against ten Facebook Reels posts for systematic copyright violations and the spread of hate speech. The content included unauthorized fragments of Lithuanian broadcasters' programs and material inciting hatred towards migrants and Muslims, as well as misleading information about child repatriation during war.

While Meta acknowledged the LRTK's request, it stated that not all reported content was clearly illegal or violated its community standards. Nevertheless, the tech giant removed or restricted access to all ten specified posts. However, Meta declined the LRTK's request to delete the entire account, a decision the commission found insufficient given the systematic nature of the infringements.

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This case showed that official LRTK notifications to platforms can yield concrete results. We provided detailed, substantiated information about systematic copyright violations and other content deemed illegal. After our appeal, Meta removed all posts mentioned in the notification.

This marks the first instance where Meta has acted upon an official request from the LRTK to remove a Facebook account due to systematic copyright violations. The LRTK views this as a positive outcome, demonstrating that official notifications can yield results. "This case showed that official LRTK notifications to platforms can yield concrete results," stated LRTK Chairman Mantas Martišius. "We provided detailed, substantiated information about systematic copyright violations and other content deemed illegal. After our appeal, Meta removed all posts mentioned in the notification."

Despite the partial success, the LRTK emphasizes that removing individual posts is not enough when an account continues to host similar content. The commission intends to appeal Meta's decision, pushing for platforms to evaluate entire accounts engaged in systematic legal violations, not just isolated posts. The LRTK will utilize Meta's appeal procedure to seek a re-evaluation of the decision not to remove the account.

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However, one post removal is not enough if the account continues to be used for the same content. Therefore, we will strive for platforms to evaluate not only individual posts but also accounts whose activities are based on systematic legal violations.