Beheading Clips Back on Facebook

Facebook is allowing videos depicting graphic decapitations to return to its site, saying it believes viewers should be free to watch such videos. The clips were removed temporarily in May, after claims that the material could cause long-term psychological damage, especially on some of the younger social network users. Facebook’s terms and conditions now state it will remove media which “glorifies violence,” allowing graphic content to remain online so long as it is not celebrated. The two sides of the argument are extreme: some, like La Quadrature du Net, a French digital rights group, maintain even these conditions are a limitation of their freedom, whilst child welfare organizations are calling for the videos to be removed once more; this time, permanently.