Meta Reverses Covid-19 Misinformation Guidelines in the United States

In a report by The Washington Post on Friday morning, it was revealed that Meta is scaling back its covid misinformation rules in countries like the US, following the recommendation of its independent oversight board in April. The decision comes as the national emergency status of the pandemic has been rescinded in the US. This move by Meta aligns with their commitment to adjust their rules according to regional contexts. The company stated that the change was prompted by the World Health Organization’s decision to lift the global public health emergency declaration. Previously, Meta implemented global covid-19 misinformation rules in response to the public health emergency declaration.

In an update to the July announcement in which Meta requested its Oversight Board to assess the safety of their covid-19 misinformation policies, the company mentioned the expiration of the World Health Organization’s global emergency declaration as a significant factor behind their decision to relax the rules. Meta acknowledged that, given the downgraded emergency status of the pandemic by the WHO, it will not directly address all concerns raised by the Oversight Board. It specifically mentioned concerns related to reassessing the removal of misinformation and increasing transparency around removal requests from governments. However, Meta stated that their response to the Board’s recommendation regarding the risk assessment of their moderation policies fulfills the spirit of the first recommendation. The company plans to consult with internal and external experts to evaluate the global status of covid-19 and will share details about localized enforcement in future Quarterly Updates, promoting transparency in their approach.

On May 5th, 2023, the World Health Organization officially ended its global emergency declaration for covid-19, following Twitter’s decision to stop enforcing its own misinformation rules after being acquired by Elon Musk in November 2022. While Meta is rolling back its covid misinformation rules, platforms like TikTok and YouTube are still maintaining their policies against covid misinformation, although YouTube recently made changes to its rules regarding election misinformation.