At Meta, the Oversight Board, first introduced back in 2020, is the only thing more powerful than Mark Zuckerberg.
And this time, it has overturned its decision to remove Facebook posts containing slogan “death to Khomeini,” to criticize Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini, saying it did not violate a rule barring violent threats.
The board, which is funded by Meta but operates independently, said that the context of the "broader social, political and linguistic situation" in Iran, the slogan "death to" can also be understood as “down with.”
So here, removing the post does not align with Meta’s Community Standards, its values, or its human rights responsibilities.
What this means, "marg bar Khomeini" (مرگ برخمینی) can be considered a rhetorical, political slogan, and not a credible threat.
According to Meta's Oversight Board, public comments submitted to the Board indicate that "marg bar Khamenei" has been used widely during the recent protests in Iran.
The term "death to" is impossible to adopt to the universal rule, because for example, “marg bar Salman Rushdie,” cannot be equated with “marg bar Khamenei,” given the fatwa against Rushdie, and attempts on his life. The term “death to” being used during political events and protests is not the same as when the term is being used when politicians are clearly at risk.
In the Iranian context, the Oversight Board finds that Meta must do more to respect freedom of expression, and permit the use of rhetorical threats.
During the massive protests, the Iranian government has tried repressing free speech and the freedom of expression, and that officials have also restricted the internet in some regions.
In this kind of situation, the Oversight Board must support users’ voice.
Given the “National Day of Hijab and Chastity” was approaching, Meta should have anticipated issues around the over-removal of Iranian protest content, and prepared an adequate response.
And in this case, members of the Oversight Board agree that Meta must not remove content containing the "marg bar Khamenei" slogan.
The Oversight Board argues that failure to police what term is and isn't allowed may lead to the silencing of political speech aimed at protecting women’s rights, which can also shut people out of social movements and political debate.
Since September 2022, following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the authorities, Iran has been shaken by protests.
The rallies, in which protesters from many cities in Iran, and even abroad, urged the removal of Iran’s theocracy. They have directly confronted the Islamic Republic’s administration with one of its greatest significant problems since the 1979 revolution.
With the protests continuing for months, the protestors are focusing on Khamenei and are demanding an end to the Islamic government.
Read: How Technology Keeps Protests In Iran Alive, With Or Without The Internet
Meta is the largest social media platform in the world, with Facebook and Instagram under its umbrella.
The tech titan has faced this kind of dilemma for more than plenty of times, but often failed to regulate the flow of information on its platforms.
But in this case, the argument is when and how the policy is to be imposed, and what is and isn't considered a threat.
This is why the Oversight Board agree to overturn its previous decision, and asked Meta to develop better ways of factoring such context into its content policies and outline clearly when rhetorical threats against top leaders were permitted.
Further reading: Iranians Made The Burning Of Ayatollah Khomeini’s Ancestral Home Viral On Social Media
