A UN human rights expert urged Facebook on Monday to narrow its “sweeping” definition of terrorism to stop governments arbitrarily blocking legitimate opposition groups and dissenting voices.
Fionnuala D. Ní Aoláin wrote to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg saying that Facebook wrongly treats all non-state groups that use violence in pursuit of any goals as terrorist entities.
“The use of such a sweeping definition is particularly worrying in light of a number of governments seeking to stigmatize diverse forms of dissent and opposition (whether peaceful or violent) as terrorism,” wrote Ms. Ní Aoláin, UN special rapporteur on protecting human rights while countering terrorism.
Rebel armed groups
Facebook’s policy did not take account of rebel armed groups that comply with international humanitarian law, the letter said.
She did not give examples, but governments facing armed opposition, such as in Syria, frequently label all their opponents as terrorists.
Ms. Ní Aoláin commended “the important role Facebook plays in offsetting terrorist activity online”, but said it must not unduly interfere in the human rights of its users, and should ensure there is a way to challenge wrong decisions.
Overly broad and imprecise definitions of terrorism may lead to “discriminatory implementation, over-censoring and arbitrary denial of access to and use of Facebook’s services”, she wrote.
Facebook and other social media firms are increasingly involved in regulation that used to be done by states, and are under pressure from governments to police content disseminated by users, she said.
