Facebook plans to strip politicians of their special privileges when they post what has been described as hate speech and other "inappropriate" content, The Verge reported on Thursday, citing a source familiar with the matter.
The move would appear after Facebook's Oversight Board, a special independent supervisory body, recommended last month that the platform shouldn't apply different moderation policies to politicians and other influential users.
According to The Verge, Facebook's updated moderation guidelines are expected to be announced on Friday. The source also noted that Facebook had been distancing itself from meddling in politicians' publications before suspending former US President Donald Trump's account.
On 5 May, the Oversight Board ruled to maintain the ban on Trump's personal page, imposed earlier after he was accused of inspiring his supporters to break into the Capitol building on 6 January.
The body, at the same time, admitted that "Facebook violated its own rules by imposing a suspension that was 'indefinite'".
"This penalty is not described in Facebook's content policies. It has no clear criteria and gives Facebook total discretion on when to impose or lift it", the board's statement read.
Trump was suspended from Facebook and other major social networks following the deadly events at the US Capitol on 6 January. Facebook initially suspended him for 24 hours. The platform handed the final decision over to the Oversight Board, which was given six months to announce whether the ban should be permanent.
