Facebook Introduces Workplace Rules on Religious and Political Discussions

Facebook has reportedly introduced new rules for employees surrounding the discussion of religion and politics via the company’s internal Workplace app. The Silicon Valley Masters of the Universe hope to prevent “bullying” and foster “open and respectful communications at work.”

According to a report from Business Insider, Facebook is limiting the types of discussions that employees can have within the workplace surrounding religion and politics as the firm attempts to deal with a number of scandals and avoid the politically tense climate of Silicon Valley. Facebook Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer said in an internal memo to employees on Monday that the social media firm has developed “a set of ground-rules for open and respectful communication at work, and a central moderation model.”

Facebook’s guidelines are basic, prohibiting bullying and attempts to change another employee’s religious orientation or political stance: “We’re keeping it simple with three main guidelines: Don’t insult, bully, or antagonize others. Don’t try to change someone’s politics or religion. Don’t break our rules about harassing speech and expression,” Schroepfer wrote.

Internally, Facebook employees communicate via a modified version of the company’s Workplace product, which is also sold as an enterprise product to other businesses. The previously open and unregulated app will reportedly be receiving a heavier form of moderation in order to comply with these new rules according to Schroepfer.

“These guidelines apply to all work communications including Workplace, email, chat, tasks, posters, whiteboards, chalkboards, and face-to-face. Since Workplace is where most of these discussions happen, we are investing engineering resources there,” Schroepfer wrote. “We are making it easier to report posts and comments, and those reports will go straight to a trained moderator who’ll moderate as needed. We’re also developing more tools to help proactively.”

Schroepfer was adamant, however, that these new rules were not intended to stifle employees speech, stating in his memo that: “Great ideas, we know, can come from anyone. Our openness is our superpower.” A Facebook spokesperson commented on the rule changes stating: “Openness is one of the best things about working at Facebook. And respect is core to who we are as a company. This policy is designed to encourage everyone who works here to keep sharing, debating, and questioning – with some simple guidelines to assure communication is respectful.”

The new rules have reportedly been implements as a pilot program while Facebook awaits further feedback from employees.