Meta's Oversight Board issued a statement on Feb. 8 that it wants both Facebook and Instagram to place tighter restrictions on address-sharing on the platforms. This is due to the increase in doxxing cases and targeted harassment.
Meta Wants Restriction on Sharing Addresses
Facebook prohibits users from sharing private information online, but it makes an exception for information that is selected to be available to the public, according to The Verge.
The Oversight Board recommends that Facebook and Instagram create a tighter policy, especially for private information.
The board also wants the platforms to remove the exception for publicly available information and to prioritize reports of doxxing, including cases outside of Facebook and Instagram.
However, the board still wants the platforms to allow protests at publicly-owned residences and not remove posts with the user's address, especially if they choose to share them.
Still, the overall request is to tighten guidelines on posts with addresses and street-side residences imagery.
The board said that it understands that sharing private addresses and images of residences represents a serious violation of the right to privacy.
The board added that even though the potential for policy violations depends on the situation, it is better to create universal indicators that would allow reviewers to immediately know the difference between a harmful content sharing scenario versus the safe one.
This is why the Oversight Board believes that the Privacy Violations policy should produce tighter privacy rules. Meta hasn't released any statement about the board's letter yet, according to Engadget.
Ongoing Doxxing Problem
Doxxing has been a problem for years, and it is one of the results of online harassment. Perpetrators would disclose victims' personal information like their addresses and phone number, making them vulnerable online.
Victims who got their home addresses revealed online got the most harassment, with some even physically attacked.
Also, the information involved in doxxing is available on the internet, and doxxing groups usually defend their actions by sharing data already available to the public.
The Oversight Board was launched in 2020, and it functions as an external review panel for policies set by Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms.
Meta funds the board, and it operates under an independent charter. An international panel of legal scholars forms its opinions.
Meta is not legally bound to follow the board's recommendations, and the company can either ignore or delay implementation of the recommendations.
The board's request to tighten the privacy settings of Facebook and Instagram came after Meta said that it might be forced to shut down its platforms due to the new European law, according to GSMArena.
The new EU law requires Meta to gather user data within the union and to process that data on European servers. However, Instagram and Facebook's data are processed on both European and US servers, important for ad targeting.
Meta submitted a report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, suggesting that if it fails to comply with the new EU law, it will stop providing the platform's services within the union.
Last year, Meta's Oversight Board reportedly prevented from moderating VIP users.
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Written by Sophie Webster
