Facebook has said it will remove decapitation videos from the social networking site, having previously refused to ban such content.
The social network had previously claimed people had a right to depict the world in which they lived, but criticism from charities has forced Facebook to back down.
“We will remove instances of these videos that are reported to us while we evaluate our policy and approach to this type of content,”Facebook said in a statement made available to news organisations.
A one-minute video uploaded to the site had shown a woman being beheaded by a masked man. Facebook defended not deleting the video by claiming it could have been uploaded in order to condemn the action.
The United States’ Family Online Safety Institute felt the violent nature of the images had crossed the line, while charities in the UK also called on the social network to reconsider its stance, saying the material could cause long-term psychological damage.
