With the advancement of disturbing news and hate speeches on social networks, companies that own these platforms have been increasingly held responsible for the content that is disseminated on those communication channels. The connection between this type of material and the influence it can generate in democracies, including manipulating elections, is something that has been discussed for some time. Still, it has gained strength in the last two years (the recent release of the documentary Social Dilemma). Thus, despite claiming that they do not control or direct what is published on the platforms, social networks have been adjusting their Terms of Service to adapt to the new reality and maintain legal protection.

To that end, Facebook announced an update to its Terms of Service, which took effect on October 1. In the message sent to users is the following: “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 '”.

It may seem commonplace; after all, changes and updates to Terms of Service are made quite often. There is also no way to know exactly what the impact of this is going to be. However, the announcement made by Facebook generated many discussions between users who defend and those who criticize the changes.

But in practice, what kind of changes does this bring to companies that maintain profiles on this social network?

According to the new Terms of Service, if the content contains false news, violence, or violates community standards, Facebook may remove it at its discretion. In addition to taking care of content that may seem inappropriate or offensive, anyone who manages a business on this social network should diversify their sales and marketing channels as much as possible. This means that if you only use Facebook to sell your products, you may be in danger of seeing everything go downhill if the platform understands that you have violated any term.

Therefore, remember to maintain a digital marketing strategy that also includes other channels, such as a website, email, and other social networks, so that your content and products circulate better on the web.

Another important point concerns intellectual property rights. According to Facebook, if a user repeatedly violates the intellectual rights of others, the account can be suspended or permanently disabled. So, pay close attention to what you post on your page. If you use any content (image, video, text, etc.) from another person, make sure you have permission to do so and mention the credits of the producer of the material.

Although the changes may appear drastic, Facebook said it would inform users when a breach occurs and explain all options for requesting a review. But you sure don't want to get to this point, right? So, always be aware of the changes that platforms make in their Terms of Service and what is being posted on your page. That way, a lot of headaches can be avoided.

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