Sandberg Details Plans for Facebook Live Restrictions, Removal of New Zealand Hate Group Content

By Josh Beckerman

Facebook Inc. (FB), which has been criticized after video of the New Zealand mosque attack was shown live and widely shared, is enhancing its rules for using Facebook Live and taking steps to fight hate groups in New Zealand and Australia.

In a blog post Friday, Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said, "We are committed to reviewing what happened and have been working closely with the New Zealand Police to support their response."

Facebook is exploring restrictions on who can go Live based on factors like prior Community Standard violations. It is also working on improved technology to quickly identify when videos and images are edited to avoid being blocked.

Facebook said this week that it would block content that praises or represents white nationalism. On Friday, Ms. Sandberg said Facebook is using existing artificial intelligence tools to identify and remove "a range of hate groups in Australia and New Zealand, including the Lads Society, the United Patriots Front, the Antipodean Resistance, and National Front New Zealand."

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has called for "meaningful change" to the country's social-media laws.

Ms. Sandberg said Friday that the company is ready to "further review the role that online services play in these types of attacks more widely" and to "work with the New Zealand Government on future regulatory models for the online industry in areas like content moderation, elections, privacy, and data portability."

Write to Josh Beckerman at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 29, 2019 17:21 ET (21:21 GMT)

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