Meta makes it easy to remove strikes for Facebook users and Instagram creators

A few days after Meta admitted that it was over-representing its content, and errors affecting creators, the company announced the expansion of a new policy that will help keep creators from being penalized after violating Meta’s Community Standards the first time they make a mistake. On Thursday, Meta said the policy, which was introduced in August for Facebook creators, will now extend to all Facebook profiles and Facebook pages worldwide, as well as to all creators on Instagram.

It will soon expand to all Instagram users, too, Meta said.

Introduced earlier this year, the revised policy helps keep first-time offenders out of “Facebook jail,” so to speak. Instead of getting their first warning strike, creators can choose to take a new, training course that can clear a claim on their account. The change follows other efforts to reduce the impact of violations on creators, as Meta last year began issuing more warnings before punitive measures are taken.

The company explained at the time that the policy focused on “educating – not punishing” first-time offenders.

In addition to removing the first warning, creators can also participate in the program and if they do not commit another violation for one year.

Now, that improved policy is being rolled out to a wider audience.

It will work the same way, said Meta. That is, anyone will be able to create a course to learn about their violations while Meta will still remove any infringing content. This course is not offered for serious violations of Community Standards, but, such as those involving “sexual exploitation, the sale of dangerous drugs or the glorification of dangerous organizations and individuals,” notes Meta.

After running a program with Facebook creators over the summer, Meta said creators were more likely to say they would never violate policies again and 15% felt more confident in understanding its policies. The comapny didn’t share any data about how the system mitigated future breaches, however.

Meta is not alone in reducing the difficulty of its punishment system. YouTube last year introduced a similar program that allows creators to remove their warnings.