Facebook owner to ‘assess feasibility’ of hate speech study in Ethiopia

Meta says human rights diligence projects can be highly time intensive' and run for year or more

The owner of Facebook and Instagram has said it will assess the feasibility" of conducting an independent human rights study related to its work in Ethiopia, after the company's oversight board urged it to investigate how its platforms have been used to spread hate speech and unverified rumours in the country.

Meta was asked by its oversight board, which reviews the company's content moderation decisions and policies, to conduct the study after it upheld the removal of a Facebook post alleging the involvement of ethnic Tigrayan civilians in atrocities in Ethiopia's Amhara region. Because the platform had subsequently reinstated the post after an appeal by the user who posted it, Facebook was required to take it down again.