Meta is expanding its feature that helps users avoid Facebook jail. Earlier this year, the company began allowing Facebook creators to undergo “educational training” in the app for their first rule violations to avoid having their accounts blocked. Now the company is expanding this feature to all Facebook users and opening it up to Instagram creators.
As Engadget noted back in August, the idea behind the feature is reminiscent of a driving school. People who violate one of the company’s rules for the first time will have the opportunity to complete a “short educational program” in the Facebook or Instagram app to avoid a “strike” on their account and any restrictions that may be associated with it.
Users will be able to use this process once every 12 months for most first-time offenses. The process of “removing a warning” from an account will be available to anyone on Facebook, as well as authors on Instagram (a wider rollout for Instagram is expected “soon,” according to the company). Meta will not allow people to remove strikes for more “serious” offenses, including posts about sexual exploitation or drug sales.
Meta described the strike removal feature as part of its efforts to reform its penalty system, which has long been frustrating and confusing for users, who often get caught unintentionally. In his blog post, Meta noted that the educational features in the app have already shown some signs of success with Facebook’s creators. “What we’ve already seen since we first launched this summer is promising – those who successfully removed their first policy violation penalties were more likely to say they understood Facebook’s policy decisions and were less likely to violate those policies again,” the company said.
