- The Oversight Board urged Meta to improve policies on sexual harassment awareness content.
- The Board ruled Meta wrong to remove posts meant to raise awareness on sexual violence.
- Both videos showed public transport harassment and were initially removed under policy.
The Oversight Board has urged Meta to strengthen its policies governing awareness-raising content on sexual harassment and violence against women, following its review of two cases involving videos recorded on public transport in India and Brazil.
The Board said Meta's decisions to remove both posts were wrong, ruling that the content was intended to raise awareness about sexual harassment and should have remained on the platforms with age restrictions and warning screens.
The first case involved a video posted on the Facebook page of a prominent Indian news organisation in November 2025.
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It showed a woman confronting a man on a bus after he allegedly attempted to grope her.
The second, posted on Instagram in Brazil in December, showed a man holding his clothed genitals while seated beside a woman on a bus.
Both posts included captions highlighting concerns over women's safety and harassment on public transport.
Meta initially removed both posts under its Adult Sexual Exploitation policy. However, following the Board's intervention, the company restored the content with age-gating and warning screens.
The Board said the cases exposed shortcomings in Meta's moderation system, particularly gaps between its public-facing policies and internal guidance for moderators.
It recommended that Meta broaden its awareness-raising exception under the Adult Sexual Exploitation policy to cover not only non-consensual sexual touching but also other forms of sexual violence. It also called for a similar exception under the Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity policy.
The Board further asked Meta to clarify its rules on “creepshots” - non-consensual images of unsuspecting people - noting that the company's internal guidance appeared to require the removal of certain depictions of public masturbation even when they were intended to condemn sexual harassment.
The Board also criticised Meta's decision to make the posts non-recommendable, saying this could undermine the ability of survivors, advocates and others to use the platforms for public awareness and policy advocacy.
It urged Meta to separate sensitive-content warnings from non-recommendability, allowing legitimate discussions on gender-based violence to reach intended audiences while retaining safeguards for minors and other users.
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