In a significant shift for content moderation, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta will relocate its content moderation teams from California to Texas. This move aims to alleviate concerns about biased employees potentially censoring content. In a recent post on Threads, Zuckerberg stated, “We’re going to move our trust and safety and content moderation teams out of California, and our US-based content review is going to be based in Texas.”
He emphasized that this decision is part of their commitment to promoting free expression and building trust by operating in environments perceived as less biased. In a video discussing these changes, Zuckerberg highlighted that relocating will enhance transparency in their moderation processes. Watch the video here.
This decision aligns with Elon Musk’s recent trend of moving major operations to Texas, including his companies X and SpaceX. Musk’s relocation was partly motivated by his opposition to California legislation aimed at supporting LGBTQ+ students. However, Meta’s employees in Texas will face various state laws, including bans on gender-affirming care for transgender minors and one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation.
Additionally, Meta is undergoing other significant moderation changes, such as replacing its independent fact-checking program in the US with a Community Notes feature inspired by X. The company is also lifting restrictions on topics like immigration and gender while reinstating civic content across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
The updates were detailed in a blog post authored by Joel Kaplan, who is now leading Meta’s moderation policies with a more lenient approach towards controversial topics.
