Facebook—in hate-crime clash with MPs—claims it’s “fixed” abuse review tool

Enlarge (credit: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)

Facebook has claimed that it tweaked its community standards review system that allows users to report abusive, offensive, and illegal images and posts in light of a BBC investigation that highlighted the ease with which obscene material could be found on the site.

In a clash with MPs, the company's UK policy director Simon Milner told the home affairs committee chair Yvette Cooper that the images reported by the BBC were "rather innocent" but added that comments below the pictures were "horrible."

Facebook's community standards team-made up of thousands of people based in Dublin, Texas, California, and Hyderabad-didn't scrutinise, in detail, reports made via the company's review tool because, Milner said, it was the comments rather than the image that was abhorrent. It meant the system failed to flag up the abusive content.

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