As a global service connecting 400 million people, Facebook has helped build and extend communities around the world. As with any community, the benefits of bringing people together are occasionally accompanied by inappropriate or unacceptable conduct by a small number of people. This behavior ranges from thoughtless to criminal and can degrade the experience for others or undermine the community itself.
On Facebook, the most common unacceptable behavior involves some abuse of our communication tools. This can be as innocent as annoying... others with too many messages or friend requests or as serious as deliberately trying to spam others for commercial gain.
We take these deliberate spam attacks seriously and devote a tremendous amount of our engineering time and talent to build systems that detect suspicious activity and automatically warn people about inappropriate behavior or links. Because of our efforts, only a very small percentage of people who use Facebook has ever experienced spam or a security issue.
Every once in a while, though, people misunderstand one of these systems. They incorrectly believe that Facebook is restricting speech because we've blocked them from posting a specific link or from sending a message to someone who is not a friend. Over the years, these misunderstandings have caused us to be wrongly accused of issues ranging from stifling criticism of director Roman Polanski over his sexual abuse charges to curbing support for ending U.S. travel restrictions on Cuba to blocking opponents of same-sex marriage.
To try to be more transparent, we've been working to improve our warnings and make them more clear. We'd also like to take this opportunity to explain in more detail how our systems work.
With billions of pieces of content being shared on Facebook every month and bad actors constantly targeting the people who use Facebook, preventing spam isn't easy. Just as a community relies on its citizens to report crime, we rely on you to let us know when you encounter spam, which can be anything from a friend request sent by someone you don't know to a message that includes a link to a malicious website.
Using information from your reports and what we know about how the average person uses Facebook, we've identified certain common patterns of unacceptable behavior. For example, we've learned that if someone sends the same message to 50 people not on his or her friend list in the span of an hour, it's usually spam. Similarly, if 75 percent of the friend requests a person sends are ignored, it's very likely that that person is annoying others he or she doesn't actually know.
We can't share all of the details of how these systems work because if we did, the spammers might try to get around them. However, they're designed to automatically detect suspicious behavior, block it and warn the person who's engaging in it to slow down.
In extreme cases where the behavior continues despite our warnings, we may disable the person's account. When this happens, it usually isn't a person's account at all but a fake account or a real account that's been compromised. The compromised accounts are put into a process to give control back to the rightful owner. In all other cases, we always give the person an opportunity to appeal the decision by contacting us. We then review the account and reactivate it if we determine that the person hasn't violated our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. For more information on our warnings, check out our Help Center.
These automated systems don't just prevent spam and other annoyances. They also protect against dangerous websites that damage your computer or try to steal your information. When we're notified about one of these sites, we immediately add it to a block list and prevent Wall posts or messages that link to it. We also provide the person who's attempting to share the link with an explanation of why it's blocked and a way to correct us if we're wrong.
Sometimes, spammers try to hide their malicious links behind URL shorteners like Tiny URL or bit.ly, and in rare cases, we may temporarily block all use of a specific shortener. If you hit a block while using a URL shortener, try a different one or just use the original URL for whatever you're trying to share.
These systems are so effective at working in the background that most people who use Facebook will never encounter one. They're not perfect, though, and we're always working to improve them. We do this by actively monitoring appeals and learning from the rare cases in which we make mistakes.
If you do encounter one of our spam prevention systems, remember that its sole intent is to protect you and maintain Facebook's trusted environment.
Caroline Ghiossi, an associate on Facebook's user operations team, is fighting spam.
- by Caroline Ghiossi on Tuesday, June 29, 2010 at 4:17pmSee MoreNew warning explaining why content has been blocked.
- by Casi Lumbra on Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 8:30amCasi Lumbra, 17, is an advisory board member for MTV's A Thin Line campaign, which launched today to help teens stop the spread of digital abuse. She's also a member of WiredSafety.org's Teenangels, a group of teens trained in all aspects of online safety, privacy and security. While people on Facebook may never encounter digital abuse, they still need to be able to spot it and stop it. We asked Casi to share her perspective as a teenager and expert about the causes of digital abuse and ways that teens can avoid it.See More
Have you ever snooped on a... friend's text messages, posted nasty messages about a classmate or colleague on Facebook or posted an embarrassing picture of someone to get even? Have any of these things ever happened to you?
Let's face it: For many teens the answer to at least one of those questions is likely "yes." We use technology 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from connected devices in our backpacks, pockets and purses. This creates a digital side to every part of our lives. Even our relationships are wired. We interact with friends, boyfriends, girlfriends and acquaintances online just as we do offline, and sometimes it's hard to remember that our online behavior has boundaries.
If you also answered "yes" to any of the questions I asked above, you've experienced "digital abuse." Digital abuse is the use of digital technologies—such as cell phones, social networks, instant messaging and e-mail—to hurt someone, even when you didn't "mean" it. It even includes certain high-risk digital activities that can hurt us, like "sexting"—the act of sending sexually explicit images. It's also digital abuse if you:- Harass people with constant text messages
- Demand that they be available at all times and even sleep with their cell phones
- Send nasty or threatening messages, post mean pictures or create groups to gang up on someone online
- Hack into people's accounts to hurt them
- Spy on people with keystroke loggers or take over their profiles by changing their passwords
Even though it involves the virtual world, digital abuse has serious real-world consequences. Things may start out as a joke, but end up badly. Curiosity can become criminal privacy intrusions. Sometimes it's hard to tell where our actions fall.
There's a thin line between what's harmless and what's harmful, and that line can be difficult to spot.
There's a thin line between one person's sarcastic message, and another person's wounded feelings. When sexts are being spread around, there's a thin line between a choice made in one instant, and consequences that can last a lifetime.
So, how do we stay on the right side of this thin line?
In the end, it all comes down to choices. And those choices are yours. You have to draw your own line. You decide what kind of person you are, and you decide what kind of digital citizen you want to be. You decide what values are important. It's not always easy, and the rules change all the time. The best time to make these choices is before you have to and when you are sober, calm and your brain is engaged. There are no "Cliffs Notes" or cheats. Look deep.
While this isn't easy, there are a few ways to avoid becoming a digital abuser or victim:- Keep your passwords private, and don't ask anyone for his or her password. There's a thin line between sharing and snooping. You're entitled to privacy, and password abuse is the root of much cyber-evil.
- Hit "delete" instead of "forward." You have the power to break the cycle of sexting and harassment simply by choosing not to spread such messages.
- Think twice. Before you post that picture or send that message, think about the consequences it might have – today, next week or years from now.
- Report abuse on Facebook if you see or are a victim of abusive behavior. Since Facebook is based on a real-name culture, it's important to stop people who are abusing others. Look for "Report" links throughout the site, such as the "Report This Photo" link underneath photos and the "Report" links in Inbox messages from people who aren't confirmed friends.
The power to take a stand against digital abuse is in your hands. Now decide where you want to draw your lines. Share it. Get your friends involved. If they're safer, you're safer. For more information about digital abuse and ways to protect yourself and your loved ones, become a fan of A Thin Line on Facebook or visit www.AThinLine.org.
Casi is supporting the Redraw the Line Challenge awarding $10,000 to the best digital innovation for battling digital abuse.
- by Richard Allan on Monday, November 16, 2009 at 11:40amSee More
In October, we called attention to National Crime Prevention Month in the United States to raise awareness about cyberbullying. This week is National Anti-Bullying Week in the United Kingdom, and we've teamed up with media outlets BBC Radio 1, BBC 1Xtra, and other sites like Bebo, Habbo, MSN, MySpace and YouTube to address this important issue again. While only a small fraction of people will ever experience abusive behavior on Facebook, we're committed to promoting an environment where everyone can connect and share comfortably.
For more... information on how to handle bullies, check out the BBC's new Facebook Page and website. You can show your support for the "bullyproof" movement and receive a free badge to post on your Wall or send to a friend.
We want to ensure that people understand how to address cyberbullying if it occurs on Facebook, so here are some useful tips from our Help Center:
Accept Friend Requests from People You Know
In order to prevent harassment from strangers, be careful to accept friend requests only from people you know in real life and remember to report any messages or profiles that look suspicious. Facebook is based on a real-name culture, and fake profiles are regularly disabled when they're reported to us. Only confirmed friends can post to your Wall or contact you via Facebook Chat, so if you're worried that someone will make inappropriate posts or send offensive messages, just ignore that person's friend request.
Use the Block Feature
A block prevents specific people from viewing your profile. When you use this feature, any ties you currently have with them will be broken, and they won't be able to contact you through Facebook. You can block another user by listing his or her name in the "Block People" box at the bottom of your Privacy Settings page.
Report Abusive Behavior
The most efficient way to report abuse is to do it in the same place it occurs on Facebook. For example, if you receive a harassing message in your Inbox from someone who is not your Facebook friend, you can report it by clicking on the "Report" link next to the sender's name as you are reading the message. If you receive an harassing message from a Facebook friend, you should remove that person as a friend and report the message. Reporting a message will automatically add the sender to your Block list. You can also use the "Report/Block person" link that appears at the bottom of the abusive user's profile. Reports are confidential and the user being reported does not know about the report. After a report is submitted, we will investigate the issue and make a determination as to whether or not the content should remain on the site based on our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.
Customize Your Privacy Settings
Facebook offers granular privacy settings that allow you to customize what information you share and with whom. By customizing the settings on the Privacy Settings page, you can control who views your information, dictate who can find you in searches, and see your Wall, profile and photos, among other things.
Respond to Abusers in the Right Way
Cyberbullies often seek a reaction from the people they harass. When they fail to get one, they often will give up. Rather than respond to a bully via an Inbox message, a Wall post or Facebook Chat, you can delete offensive posts from your Wall or messages from your Inbox and then use the Block or Report functions to resolve the issue. To delete an offensive Wall post, select the "Remove" button that appears in the upper right-hand corner. To delete a message from Inbox, simply click the "Delete" button at the top of the message. Only confirmed friends can post to your Wall or send you a message through Chat. If you are receiving posts and Chat messages you don't like, you should consider removing the sender from your friends list.
Protecting our users is a top priority for Facebook, and we're proud to be a part of this year's Anti-Bullying Week efforts in the UK.
Richard, Facebook's European Director of Public Policy, is a fan of the BBC bullyproof Page on Facebook.
- by Jessica Ann Flora on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 10:43amSee More
While only a small fraction of people on the site ever experience abuse such as bullying, harassment, unwanted contact or offensive behavior from others, we're constantly improving our processes to better respond if you do have a problem. By providing us with accurate and detailed information, you can help us locate and remove abuse on the site as quickly and efficiently as possible. That's why we recently made it possible for you to send us more specific and detailed reports of abuse as part of our efforts to make Facebook a safe and trusted... environment.
Specifically, we created much more granular reporting categories for you to classify the issues you may come across including bullying or unwanted contact from other people on the site. We also added new fields where you can detail the location of abuse that occurs in videos or text. For example, if you want to report offensive content in a video, you now can tell us the specific time during the video when the abuse occurs. Or if you're reporting a note, you can copy and paste the offensive text directly from its source. The information you provide helps our international team of professional reviewers prioritize reports and know what they're looking for when reviewing the content.
You can report abuse on the site by selecting the "Report" link located near photos, videos, notes or other content you find offensive or inappropriate. From there, you can choose from a set of categories to classify the content. These categories change depending on what type of content you're reporting, but they let you know what we consider abusive and help our user operations team process reports even faster.
For instance, when reporting an offensive photo, you can select from the following reasons for why it may violate our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities: nudity or pornography, drug use, excessive gore or violence, attacks individual or group, advertisement or spam or infringes on your intellectual property. Keep in mind that we won't remove a photo or video just because it's unflattering.
We rely on you to let us know when you see objectionable content, and these additional details are an important part of the process. We'll continue to work to improve your experience and give you the proper tools to report bad content and behavior.
Jessica, a specialist on the Facebook user operations team, keeps it clean. - Topics: Abuse
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