Meta's 'Less Censorship' Policy May Fuel Antisemitism, Royal Commission Told

Meta's decision to scale back content moderation, including reducing "censorship" and relying less on fact-checkers, may have inadvertently unleashed more antisemitic content on its platforms like Facebook and Instagram. The royal commission into antisemitism heard that this policy shift, announced in January 2025 following Donald Trump's U.S. re-election, poses a significant risk.

The company's new approach involves proactively addressing only illegal and very serious violations. For less severe breaches, Meta now relies on users to report problematic content. This move away from extensive fact-checking and proactive moderation was framed by the company as a way to reduce "over-enforcement."

However, critics and the royal commission suggest this strategy could endanger communities by allowing hate speech to proliferate more easily. The shift impacts Meta's major platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, raising concerns about the spread of harmful content in the digital sphere.

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Over-enforcement poses significant risk to the communities that we try to protect