The Elusive Facebook Commerce Policy
The prize at the end of the treasure hunt, that few can win
What is the Facebook Commerce Policy.
1. It is a little known, nearly orphaned, page not linked from the majority of Facebook’s policy pages.
An internal back-link search the entire Facebook domain, for Facebook’s Commerce Policy, revealed that the policy is in fact linked from other pages in Facebook, however they are mainly in three regions that even business page owners would not think to look. They link from the Facebook sub-domains for app developers developers.facebook and code.facebook, and also from their government requests sub-domain, govtrequests.facebook
2. It is a page that lists certain items as “prohibited” that are actually listed under “restricted” (allowed but with rules) on other policy pages.
Regulated Goods We prohibit any attempts by private individuals to purchase, sell, or trade prescription drugs, marijuana, firearms or ammunition. If you post an offer to purchase or sell alcohol, tobacco, or adult products, we expect you to comply with all applicable laws and carefully consider the audience for that content. We do not allow you to use Facebook’s payment tools to sell or purchase regulated goods on our platform. — Facebook Community Standards
3. It is the ONLY policy page that anyone seems to be able to find, that states that animals are not permitted to be sold on Facebook.
(If anyone can find another page in Facebook’s policies referencing no animal sales, please add it to the comments below!)
4. It does not appear in the Wayback Machine before September 8th, 2016
Yet, other Facebook policy pages show as as going back to 2012, such as their main policy page
Cached versions of other policy pages prior to September 8th, 2016 do not reveal any indication of a “no animals” rule in the prohibited items not allowed for sale on the Facebook platform.
(It’s important to note that Internet Archives Way Back Machine has been around since 1996 and has archived over 286 BILLION web pages. It is a well respected, comprehensive service available for all to use.)
Why is this relevant?
At this point I have found no evidence that the NO ANIMALS POLICY had existed prior to September 8th, 2016. For that matter, I have found no evidence to confirm this Commerce Policy PAGE even existed prior to September 8th, 2016.
And that…there was no effort was made by Facebook, whatsoever, to notify any Facebook users that such a wide spread policy, that would have devastating effects on millions of users, was being made and was about to be actively enforced to the point of suspending users and deleting pages and groups with no warning.
I don’t believe in selling animals on Facebook anyways, why should I care?
Take a good look at the Facebook Commerce Policy. As I mentioned above, that policy contradicts most readily available policy pages in the Facebook domain. If this single page can be used to justify a complete ban on the sale of animals across the board on Facebook, it can also be used to justify overriding any other standard described in the Community Standards or even the advertising guidelines.
Regulated Goods ……. If you post an offer to purchase or sell alcohol, tobacco, or adult products, we expect you to comply with all applicable laws and carefully consider the audience for that content. — excerpt from Facebook Community Standards
Take a look at the “Regulated Goods” (permitted but with restrictions) in the Community Standards above. Now look at the references to those same products below, taken from the Commerce Policies. Up until lately, the majority of Facebook users would have assumed the difference was because one policy applied to everyday users, while the other only applied to those who purchase advertising and develop applications.
However, the recent use of this page to enact a Facebook wide animal sales ban, that extends well beyond the sale of animals and cuts off millions of dedicated animal welfare volunteers and agencies from the work they have put in to build their own productive rescue networks is proof that this little known page is Facebook’s ambiguous ace in the hole for future changes in policies with no notice.
Sale of the following is prohibited on Facebook:
2. Tobacco items and related paraphernalia;
6. Adult items or services;
7. Alcohol;
8. Adult health items;
12. Non-physical items are prohibited on Facebook Marketplace, including but not limited to services, subscriptions, digital products, or rentals. — Excerpt from Facebook Commerce Policies
But those items should be prohibited anyways!
Everyone has their right to choose what they don’t think should be permitted on Facebook. Facebook has even given all users the controls to tell them the kinds of things they do not want to see.
The problem here is the terms, such as “adult health items” are so ambiguous, they mean different things to different people. Because of their ambiguity, Facebook can literally twist them into anything they want.
What it boils down to, is that Facebook Policy pages are just links they can offer you when the throw you in Facebook jail, delete your posts or remove your pages. They are not there to help you be an educated Facebook user.
If you have any links or facts with sources the contradicts the information in this article, please do not hesitate to share it with me and the rest of the readers by adding it to the comments. Thank you
