When Does Hate Speech Cross the Line on Social Media?

[Commentary] Facebook's decision to make an exception to its hate speech policy by not removing Donald Trump's Muslim ban video highlights social media companies' differing and often inconsistent responses to offensive content. Though it apparently violated Facebook's own internal guidelines, Trump's video was not removed because as a political candidate, his statements were "an important part of the conversation around who the next US president will be," a Facebook spokesperson said. Yet Facebook users who shared Trump's video saw their posts removed for violating its community standards policy. At Twitter, it would be difficult to argue that Trump's tweet about his proposal violated the company's rules, which tend to be much more permissive.

Facebook, Twitter and other private companies aren’t subject to laws that protect people from government interference in free speech, but they've borrowed some of the same theoretical frameworks. Facebook’s policy on hate speech resembles the UK’s free speech law, which bars speech "intended or likely to stir up racial hatred" (this is the basis for a petition that seeks to ban Trump from Britain). The social media platform has specifically banned hate speech and will remove content that violates this policy if someone reports it. When Facebook decided not to take down Trump's post, it implicitly clarified part of its content policy, and its decision will have consequences across the social media landscape.