India, March 26 -- Meta Platforms, Inc.'s (META) independent oversight board has recently advised the company to lift its broad prohibition on the common use of the Arabic term "shaheed" or "martyr" in English, citing that this approach is excessively restrictive and hinders the expression of numerous users.
While the board acknowledged that extremists may use the word to glorify individuals who died in violent acts, they emphasized that "shaheed" can have non-glorifying connotations as well. The board, supported by Meta, advised the platform to only remove posts containing "shaheed" if they are associated with clear indications of violence or violate other Meta policies.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt, co-chair of the Oversight Board, criticized...