"Effective October 1, 2020, section 3.2 of our Terms of Service will be updated to include: “We also can remove or restrict access to your content, services or information if we determine that doing so is reasonably necessary to avoid or mitigate adverse legal or regulatory impacts to Facebook.”
According to the notification, the change is to take place on October 1. Here’s the exact wording:
Effective October 1, 2020, section 3.2 of our Terms of Service will be updated to include: “We also can remove or restrict access to your content, services or information if we determine that doing so is reasonably necessary to avoid or mitigate adverse legal or regulatory impacts to Facebook.”
Immediately, reaction began to roll in on social media with users concerned the update amounts to online 'censorship.' Especially close to elections, it can look like Election interference. Is this a coincidence?
But, The move could be linked to recent changes in Australia, where the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is preparing a bill that would require both Facebook and Google to compensate news outlets when stories are published on their respective platforms.
If you’re looking for further clarification on what type of content can be removed, you’ll likely have to wait until the terms of service take effect next month.
As noted, the changes to Facebook's terms of service take effect from October 1, 2020.
