Facebook bows to pressure from PM and campaigners as it removes graphic video showing woman being beheaded in Mexico



Facebook banned decapitation videos in May due to psychological damage

In U-turn it said users should be able to watch and condemn these videos

Hostage UK, which has Ken Bigley's brother as trustee, slams the move

PM: Decision is 'irresponsible' and Facebook should 'address problem'

Following pressure it's removed gory video of woman being beheaded



Facebook today bowed to pressure from David Cameron and child internet protection campaigners by taking down a graphic video of a woman being beheaded in Mexico.

The Prime Minister had accused Facebook of irresponsibility after it lifted a ban on users posting videos of beheadings - and demanded the social networking site explain its decision to parents.

Critics accused the firm of ‘taking leave of its senses’. Facebook had said that while the images must not be posted for ‘sadistic pleasure’ they should be available for those who wish to condemn them.

Terrible: The filmed executions of people like Ken Bigley, left, will be allowed to be shown on Facebook after they quietly lifted a ban, which David Cameron, pictured today, called 'irresponsible'

Alert: Facebook has begun adding warning messages to videos on its website showing decapitations

However, last night it was revealed Facebook had removed the clip of a woman being beheaded and said it would use a broader set of criteria to determine when gory videos are permitted on the site.

The website had earlier begun adding alerts to videos showing decapitations or other extreme violence, saying: 'Warning! This video contains extremely graphic content and may be upsetting'.



‘When we review content that is reported to us, we will take a more holistic look at the context surrounding a violent image or video,’ a Facebook spokesman said.

Critical: Hostage UK, a charity supported by Ken Bigley's brother Phil, pictured, has accused Facebook of 'playing into the hands of hostage-takers'

‘Second, we will consider whether the person posting the content is sharing it responsibly, such as accompanying the video or image with a warning and sharing it with an age-appropriate audience.’

The change underscores a challenge for Facebook as it seeks to position itself as the go-to online destination where people share up-to-the-minute images and discuss breaking news events.

The US firm acknowledged last night that its previous approach, which permitted the video of the woman's killing in Mexico to remain on its site, was flawed.

‘Based on these enhanced standards, we have re-examined recent reports of graphic content and have concluded that this content improperly and irresponsibly glorifies violence. For this reason, we have removed it,’ the company said.

Suicide prevention charities had denounced the original move to lift the ban on beheading videos, warning that the clips were ‘psychologically destructive’ to teenagers.

Others accused Facebook of double standards for allowing footage of beheadings but restricting what breastfeeding mothers can post and demanding women remove pictures of their mastectomy scars.

Criticism: David Cameron used rival site Twitter to hit out Facebook's new policy

Gruesome videos of people being beheaded are to be allowed on Facebook once again. The social network claims that its users should be able to watch and condemn these videos, but not celebrate them

Facebook’s unpublicised change in policy came to light after it refused to remove a 57-second video showing a young Mexican woman, her hands tied behind her back and on her knees, being beheaded by a masked man in broad daylight. It was posted last week under the title ‘Challenge: Anybody can watch this video?’.

One disgusted viewer commented: ‘Remove this video, too many young innocent minds out there shouldn’t see this.’

Another wrote: ‘This is absolutely horrible, distasteful and needs to be removed... I’m very disturbed after seeing a couple of seconds of it.’

Mr Cameron wrote on Twitter: ‘It’s irresponsible of Facebook to post beheading videos, especially without a warning. They must explain their actions to worried parents.’

Last night one of Facebook’s advertisers, car-sharing companty ZipCar, withdrew its adverts in protest, saying: ‘We do not condone this type of abhorrent content being circulated on Facebook.’

Dr Arthur Cassidy, of suicide prevention group the Yellow Ribbon Program, said: ‘It only takes seconds of exposure to such graphic material to leave a permanent trace – particularly in a young person’s mind.’

The site, which is open to anyone over the age of 13, had banned footage of decapitation on its site in May citing concerns that it would cause long-term psychological damage

Stephen Balkam of the Family Online Safety Institute – a member of the Facebook safety advisory board – urged the site to reverse the policy and Will Gardner, of Childnet International, which also sits on the advisory board, said ‘Such content should be taken down.

There is a need to raise issues happening around the world... but some content is horrific. We would want to see steps to try and protect people from coming across such content.’

Hostage UK, supported by the family of British engineer Ken Bigley – who was kidnapped and beheaded in Iraq in 2004 – accused Facebook of ‘playing into the hands of hostage-takers’. Trustee Sue Williams said: ‘It will cause great pain to the families who have lost loved ones who were hostages.’

John Carr, of the UK Council For Child Internet Safety, said: ‘Facebook has taken leave of its senses. Those videos will fuel countless nightmares among the young.’

But Sean Gallagher of Index On Censorship warned about the impact on freedom of expression: ‘Films about beheadings may be deeply upsetting and offensive but they do expose the reality of violent acts that are taking place.’

Facebook had introduced a temporary ban on decapitation videos in May but later removed it, explaining that the site is used to share information about world events, such as acts of terrorism and human rights abuses.