Meta will no longer allow sharing of “publicly available” private addresses

Meta will no longer allow users to share people's addresses even if that information is publicly available. Until now that option was in effect, but following the recommendations of the Supervisory Board, the company decided to eliminate that possibility in order to provide more privacy and security to its users.

What is the Supervisory Board? This entity was launched in 2020 and includes a diverse set of members who provide external guidance on Meta's moderation decisions and policies across all its platforms.

The company is not subject to any of the decisions made by the Supervisory Board, but must respond to each of its recommendations, as was the case in this case. The objective of this meeting is to provide options and ideas to improve certain aspects of the platform related to security, privacy, etc.

It should be noted that Facebook and Instagram prohibit users from sharing the address of users, however, publications containing “addresses” were not prevented until now publicly available”. That is, any address that has been published in five or more media outlets or that has been made available in public records. Meta says it will end this exception “by the end of the year.”

“As the board notes in this recommendation, removing the exception for private residential information 'publicly available' may limit the availability of this information on Facebook and Instagram when it is still publicly available elsewhere. However, we recognize that implementing this recommendation can strengthen privacy protections on our platforms,” the statement released by the company emphasizes.

This decision comes almost a year after Meta asked the Supervisory Board to comment on its handling of private residential information. The Board issued a response, calling on the company to tighten its policies around the exchange of addresses of private homes, as a precautionary measure to prevent doxing, which consists of the practice of revealing personal information online (address, full name, documents, etc.) that could be used to threaten or harass someone.

In relation to the latter, the organization said it is actively building new channels for users to get support, and that it is already partnering with more than 850 organizations that victims can contact for help. Such organizations include the Revenge Pornography Helpline in the United Kingdom and the National Network to End Domestic Violence in the United States.

On the other hand, Meta is changing its rules regarding posts that include photos of the outside of private homes. The company says it will not take action if “the property represented is the focus of a news story”, unless it is “shared in the context of organizing protests against the resident.”

It will also allow users to share the outside of publicly owned residences belonging to “high-ranking officials”, such as heads of state or ambassadors. And while Meta says it will continue to allow users to publish their own addresses, it will not allow other users to share them, as “it is often impossible to tell if a resident has consented to allow someone else to share their private address.”

In turn, the company is testing a way to make the “Privacy Violation” reporting option easier to find. Instead of clicking on two menus and searching for the specific option, Meta says it will try to make the option more obvious and easier to locate.

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