Facebook extends ban on hate speech to ‘white nationalists’

SAN FRANCISCO

Facebook is extending its ban on hate speech to prohibit the promotion and support of white nationalism and white separatism.

The company previously allowed such material even though it has long banned white supremacists. The social network said last week that it didn’t apply the ban previously to expressions of white nationalism because it linked such expressions with broader concepts of nationalism and separatism – such as American pride or Basque separatism (which are still allowed).

But civil-rights groups and academics called this view “misguided” and have long pressured the company to change its stance. Facebook said it concluded that white nationalism and separatism cannot be meaningfully separated from white supremacy and organized hate groups.

Critics have “raised these issues to the highest levels at Facebook [and held] a number of working meetings with their staff as we’ve tried to get them to the right place,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a Washington, D.C.-based legal advocacy group.