Facebook will no longer allow graphic images of self-harm on its platform in a bid to tighten policies against suicide content, the social media giant said on Tuesday.
The new policy announcement by FB came amid growing criticism of how social media companies moderate violent and dangerous content, news agency Reuters reported.
The FB statement added that self-injury related content will now become harder to search on Instagram and will ensure that it does not appear as recommended in the Explore section on the photo-sharing app.
The statement on World Suicide Prevention Day followed Twitter’s remarks that content related to self-harm will no longer be reported as abusive in an effort to reduce the stigma around suicide.
About 8 million people die due to suicide every year, which is one person every 40 seconds, according to a report by the World Health Organization.
