Meta will no longer allow users to share private residential information, even if such information is publicly available online. Previously, home details that were publicly available was the exception, but the company’s own Oversight Board has recommended this now be removed.
In February, the board called on Meta to solidify its policies in this space, citing concerns over doxxing. Doxxing is known as the act of revealing personal information about an individual (think email address, home address, phone number) with the aim of harassment or with malicious intent.
The exception of “publicly available addresses” will be removed by the end of the year.
“As the board notes in this recommendation, removing the exception for ‘publicly available’ private residential information may limit the availability of this information on Facebook and Instagram when it is still publicly available elsewhere,” the company writes in a statement. “However, we recognize that implementing this recommendation can strengthen privacy protections on our platforms.”
The policy will also apply to photos of the exteriors of private homes. Meta won’t take action against users for sharing such photos if the property in question is “the focus of a news story”. It will also allow users to share the outside of homes belonging to “high ranking officials”, and permit people to organize protests at or around these locations.
Users can additionally post their own addresses, but these cannot be reshared by others, despite the board recommending this be permissible. Meta said it is “often impossible to know whether a resident has consented to allowing another person to share their private address.”
Amidst these changes, Meta did not commit to the board’s recommendation to make reporting privacy violations easier for its users. The company says it is testing a way to make the “Privacy Violation” reporting option more visible, and testing new ways to make such reports. Meta will gather and deliver its findings in a future quarterly update.
