Meta Eases Hate Speech Rules on U.S. Platforms, Allowing Sexist and Anti-LGBTQ Content

CEO Mark Zuckerberg defends the policy shift as a move against 'institutionalized censorship,' while maintaining some restrictions on dehumanizing language.

• Meta has revised its U.S. hate speech policies, removing explicit bans on posts labeling women as property or describing homosexuality and transgender identities as 'mental illnesses' or 'anomalies.'
• The updated guidelines permit calls for excluding individuals based on gender or sexual orientation from professions like the military, police, and teaching.
• Zuckerberg announced an end to partnerships with professional fact-checkers in the U.S., favoring a community-based moderation system similar to that of X (formerly Twitter).
• The company continues to prohibit Holocaust denial and explicitly dehumanizing content, despite the broader easing of restrictions.
• Zuckerberg criticized the EU's Digital Services Act, calling it 'institutionalized censorship,' and hopes incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will pressure Europe to loosen its regulatory stance.

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