Meta is expanding its functionality that helps users avoid “Facebook Jail.” Earlier this year, the company began allowing Facebook creators to complete in-app “educational training” for first-time rule violations to avoid attacks on their accounts. Now, the company is to all Facebook users and opening it up to creators on Instagram.
As Engadget noted the idea of the function is a bit like going to traffic school. People who violate one of the company’s rules for the first time will have the option to complete a “brief education program” in the Facebook or Instagram app to avoid a “warning” on their account and any restrictions that may come with it.
Users will be able to benefit from the procedure once every 12 months for most first-time crimes. The process to “remove the warning” on an account will be available to anyone on Facebook, as well as creators on Instagram (a broader rollout for Instagram is expected “soon,” according to the company). Meta will not allow people to do this. remove strikes for more “serious” crimes, including posts about sexual exploitation or drug sales.
Meta described the strike removal feature as part of its effort to reform its sanctions system, which has long been frustrating and confusing for users who often get caught up in it unintentionally. In a blog post, Meta said that in-app educational features have already shown some signs of success among Facebook creators. “What we’ve already seen since our initial launch this summer has been promising: Those who successfully removed their first strikes for violating a policy were more likely to say they understood Facebook’s policy decisions and became less likely to violate that policy again,” the company said.
