Policy details

Change log

CHANGE LOG

Change log

Today

Current version

Jul 31, 2024
Policy Rationale

Authenticity is the cornerstone of our community. We believe that authenticity helps create a community where people are accountable to each other, and to Meta, in meaningful ways. On Facebook, we require people to create one account using the name they go by in everyday life that represents their authentic identity. We created Additional Profiles to help people express different parts of their identity, such as their interests or businesses. On Instagram, we do not require people to use their authentic name, but we do require that they do not create accounts for the purpose of misleading others. We want to allow for the range of diverse ways that identity is expressed across our global community, while also preventing impersonation and identity misrepresentation on Facebook and Instagram.

Our authenticity policies are intended to create a safe and open environment where people can trust one another and build community.

We do not allow the use of our services and will restrict or disable Facebook and Instagram accounts or other Facebook entities (such as Pages, groups) that:

  • Belong to underage children
  • Demonstrate an explicit aim to deceive and impersonate others by using another person’s likeness or other identity details to pretend to be that person, or assume to be or speak on behalf of a person or entity for whom they have not been authorized.
  • Engage in deliberate identity misrepresentation to mislead or deceive others, evade enforcement, or violate our Community Standards.
  • Use a name containing violations of our Community Standards.

In certain cases, such as those outlined below, we will seek further information before taking actions ranging from temporarily restricting to permanently disabling Facebook accounts if you:

  • Provide a false date of birth
  • Use a name that is not the authentic name you go by in everyday life
  • Create a single account that represents or is used by more than one person
  • Create or maintain multiple Facebook accounts
  • Create an account that represents a non-human entity, such as a business, pet, or fictional character

User experiences

See some examples of what enforcement looks like for people on Facebook, such as: what it looks like to report something you don’t think should be on Facebook, to be told you’ve violated our Community Standards and to see a warning screen over certain content.

Note: We’re always improving, so what you see here may be slightly outdated compared to what we currently use.

Reporting
1
Universal entry point

We have an option to report, whether it's on a post, comment, story, message, profile or something else.

2
Get started

We help people report things that they don’t think should be on our platform.

3
Select a problem

We ask people to tell us more about what’s wrong. This helps us send the report to the right place.

4
Check your report

Make sure the details are correct before you click Submit. It’s important that the problem selected truly reflects what was posted.

5
Report submitted

After these steps, we submit the report. We also lay out what people should expect next.

6
More options

We remove things if they go against our Community Standards, but you can also Unfollow, Block or Unfriend to avoid seeing posts in future.

Post-report communication
1
Update via notifications

After we’ve reviewed the report, we’ll send the reporting user a notification.

2
More detail in the Support Inbox

We’ll share more details about our review decision in the Support Inbox. We’ll notify people that this information is there and send them a link to it.

3
Appeal option

If people think we got the decision wrong, they can request another review.

4
Post-appeal communication

We’ll send a final response after we’ve re-reviewed the content, again to the Support Inbox.

Takedown experience
1
Immediate notification

When someone posts something that doesn't follow our rules, we’ll tell them.

2
Additional context

We’ll also address common misperceptions and explain why we made the decision to enforce.

3
Policy Explanation

We’ll give people easy-to-understand explanations about the relevant rule.

4
Option for review

If people disagree with the decision, they can ask for another review and provide more information.

5
Final decision

We set expectations about what will happen after the review has been submitted.

Warning screens
1
Warning screens in context

We cover certain content in News Feed and other surfaces, so people can choose whether to see it.

2
More information

In this example, we give more context on why we’ve covered the photo with more context from independent fact-checkers

Enforcement

We have the same policies around the world, for everyone on Facebook.

Review teams

Our global team of over 15,000 reviewers work every day to keep people on Facebook safe.

Stakeholder engagement

Outside experts, academics, NGOs and policymakers help inform the Facebook Community Standards.

Get help with account integrity and authentic identity

Learn what you can do if you see something on Facebook that goes against our Community Standards.