Thu Jan 09 05:43:36 UTC 2025: ## Meta Eases Restrictions on Hate Speech, Sparking Outcry from Advocacy Groups

**MENLO PARK, CA** – Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has dramatically relaxed its content moderation policies, eliminating restrictions on speech related to gender, sexual identity, and immigration. This move, announced Tuesday, coincides with the termination of Meta’s third-party fact-checking program in the US and the adoption of a crowd-sourced misinformation policing model similar to X (formerly Twitter).

The updated community guidelines now permit users to make accusations of mental illness or abnormality based on gender or sexual orientation, and remove previous prohibitions against referring to women as household objects or Black people as farm equipment. Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, Joel Kaplan, justified the changes in a blog post, arguing that restrictions on topics frequently debated in public discourse are inappropriate.

However, advocacy groups like GLAAD and CyberWell have condemned the decision, fearing it will embolden hate speech and endanger marginalized communities. GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis stated that the removal of fact-checking and hate speech policies makes Meta’s platforms “unsafe places,” potentially leading to increased targeting of LGBTQ+ individuals, women, and immigrants.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in a video announcement, claimed the previous restrictions were “out of touch” with mainstream discourse and had been used to suppress differing opinions. The timing of the change, weeks before Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House with a Republican-controlled Congress, has fueled speculation of political influence. Trump and the Republican Party heavily criticized social media speech restrictions during the recent election campaign, with gender identity issues serving as a key point of contention. The shift has been met with widespread criticism from organizations concerned about the rise of online hate speech and harassment.

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