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Facebook will now allow users and page admins control who can comment on their posts, a move to curb hate speech on its platform, it confirmed in a statement.
Users and page admins can now choose who has the right to comment on their posts, ranging from everyone to only those who are tagged in the post. Micro-blogging platform Twitter also introduced a similar feature last year that allowed users to restrict replies.
The update follows a landmark ruling in Australia in 2019 that held Australian media and news companies liable for any defamatory comment made by third parties in the comment section of their posts.
Additionally, the California-based social network will now also enable users to choose what content appears in the News Feed. They can select up to 30 friends and pages to include in the favourites section and these posts will appear higher in the news feed.
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Users can also access the ‘Feed Filter Bar’ to view the most recent posts, making it easier to switch between an algorithmically ranked feed and a feed sorted chronologically with newer posts first, Facebook added.
Facebook’s feed algorithm has been criticised by experts worldwide, stating that it fuels polarisation and exploits human vulnerabilities.
