Facebook breaks content restriction record after Paris attacks

by Mario Trujillo - 04/28/16 1:59 PM ET

Facebook restricted a record amount of content at the request of governments around the world in the second half of 2015 — an increase almost solely attributed to a single image showing the devastation after the November terrorist attacks in Paris.

Facebook said it restricted 55,827 pieces of content posted at the request of France and a handful of other governments across the globe from July to December of last year.

{mosads}The social media company saw content restrictions shoot up late last year after France pressed to block an image showing the graphic aftermath of the shootings inside the Bataclan theater, where 90 people were killed.

The image was blocked in France, but not in other countries. Authorities alleged the photo violated a law “related to the protection of human dignity.”

Facebook blocked 32,100 instances of that image in France — more than half of the content restrictions around the globe.

“The photo was alleged to violate French laws related to protecting human dignity. We restricted access to more than 32,000 copies of the photo, in France only, in response to a legal request from the French government,” Facebook deputy general counsel Chris Sonderby said.

Facebook in many cases agrees to block content in specific countries that violates local law. Those requests are usually dominated by countries like Turkey and India, though a handful of items were blocked in at least 21 countries in 2015.

Facebook did not restrict any items in the United States at the government’s request, according to its transparency report.

The report also describes the number of requests for user information from governments around the world.

In the second half of 2015, the United States made 19,235 requests for information about 30,041 users. Facebook at least partially complied with about 81 percent. Search warrants and subpoenas were the most common government order, but it also included 855 emergency disclosures.

Facebook said it received between 0 and 499 National Security Letters. Technology companies are only allowed to release those statistics in wide bands.

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