Former Facebook censor says crushed heads are OK, earwax photos a no-no
FORMER Facebook censor reveals what photos make the cut. For the record, crushed heads are OK, earwax isn't.
A FORMER Facebook employee who used to filter out offensive content, has leaked the website's secret rule book which includes blocking mild nudity but allowing images of death and disfigurement, as well as racially charged comments.
Aggrieved Moroccan-born Amine Derkaoui, 21, was paid $US1 an hour by oDesk, a third-party content-moderation firm used by Facebook.
He has revealed the social network giant tells staff to delete all forms of sexual activity, even simulated activity where there was nothing explicit on show.
But deep wounds, excessive blood and "crushed heads, limbs etc" are allowed, "as long as no insides are showing".
The staff at oDesk are further instructed that Facebook will not condone "slurs or racial comments of any kind" and any such comments should be deleted as soon as possible.
But they should be allowed to stay online if the comments are made in a humorous or ironic way.
Urine, faeces, vomit, semen and strangely, ear wax are also big no-nos.
In an interview with US gossip website Gawker.com, Mr Derkaoui said: "It's humiliating. They are just exploiting the Third World."
Facebook issued the following statement: "In an effort to quickly and efficiently process the millions of reports we receive every day, we have found it helpful to contract third parties to provide precursory classification of a small proportion of reported content."
"These contractors are subject to rigorous quality controls."