The Facebook logo is seen on a computer in this photo illustration in Washington in July. Facebook on Wednesday said it has nixed 5.4 billion fake accounts already this year, many within moments of being created at the leading social network."We have improved our ability to detect and block attempts to create fake, abusive accounts," the internet firm said in its latest transparency report. | AFP-JIJI

Business

Facebook removes 3.2 billion fake accounts and millions of child abuse posts

Reuters

BANGALORE, INDIA/SAN FRANCISCO – Facebook Inc. removed 3.2 billion fake accounts between April and September, along with millions of posts depicting child abuse and suicide, according to its latest content moderation report released on Wednesday.

That more than doubles the number of fake accounts taken down during the same period last year, when 1.55 billion accounts were removed, according to the report. (bit.ly/2OcsCVI)

The world’s biggest social network also disclosed for the first time how many posts it removed from popular photo-sharing app Instagram, which has been identified as a growing area of concern about fake news by disinformation researchers.

Proactive detection of violating content was lower across all categories on Instagram than on Facebook’s flagship app, where the company initially implemented many of its detection tools, the company said in its fourth content moderation report.

For example, the company said it proactively detected content affiliated with terrorist organizations 98.5 percent of the time on Facebook and 92.2 percent of the time on Instagram.

It removed more than 11.6 million pieces of content depicting child nudity and sexual exploitation of children on Facebook and 754,000 pieces on Instagram during the third quarter.

Facebook also added data on actions it took around content involving self-harm for the first time in the report. It said it had removed about 2.5 million posts in the third quarter that depicted or encouraged suicide or self-injury.

The company also removed about 4.4 million pieces involving drug sales during the quarter, it said in a blog post. (bit.ly/33MCdsX)

GET THE BEST OF THE JAPAN TIMES IN FIVE EASY PIECES WITH TAKE 5

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

LATEST BUSINESS STORIES

A gopher tortoise lumbers across the forest floor at Reed Bingham State Park near Adel, Georgia, in 2004. The Conservation Fund and Open Space Institute announced Friday they had bought a 16,000-acre (65-sq.-km) site along the Satilla River east of Woodbine, Georgia, that they described as one of the largest unprotected open space parcels along the southeast Atlantic coast.

Conservation groups make major land buy on Georgia coast, plan to sell site to state as wildlife ...: Conservation groups have purchased a swath of land in Georgia that they describe as one of the largest unprotected open space parcels along the southeast Atlantic coast. The Conservation Fund an...

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani (left) receives from President Hassan Rouhani (right) the new budget for the financial year starting in late March 2020 in Tehran on Sunday. Rouhani described it as a "budget of resistance" against crippling sanctions imposed by arch-enemy the United States.

Iran says new budget bucks U.S. oil embargo, uses Russian loan: Iran's president said on Sunday his country will depend less on oil revenue next year, in a new budget that is designed to resist crippling U.S. trade embargoes. Iran is in the grip of an econom...

Holiday delivery: SpaceX capsule arrives at ISS with 'mighty mice,' worms, robot: SpaceX made an early holiday delivery to the International Space Station on Sunday, dropping off super muscular "mighty mice," pest-killing worms and a smart, empathetic robot. The station comma...