On 27.06.2025 Facebook and Instagram updated their community guidelines, removing restrictions on content depicting a person’s violent death and acts of brutality committed by police. They also removed the ban on content showing deceased babies.

Removed from Facebook’s community guidelines:

Imagery depicting a person’s violent death or life threatening event when the act of violence is committed by uniformed personnel performing a police function; (1503)

Imagery depicting acts of brutality (e.g., acts of violence or lethal threats on forcibly restrained subjects) by uniformed personnel performing a police function; (1504)

Imagery depicting fetuses and babies outside of the womb that are deceased (1505).

Removals on Instagram’s community guidelines were almost identical (lines 1653-1655).

Note: Both community guidelines still include policies requiring a warning screen and an 18+ age restriction for content depicting violent deaths, acts of brutality, or deceased babies.

Here are the Facebook and Instagram’s community guidelines versions.

Author: Kaisla Mäki