⚖️ My Perspective on Meta’s Oversight Board’s Criticism of the New Hate Speech Policies
“When corporate power starts rewriting moral boundaries without accountability, dharma is threatened — both online and offline.”
As Guruji Sunil Chaudhary, Founder – Career Building School (formerly TAMS Studies) & JustBaazaar, and a digital thought leader deeply rooted in Sanatani values and responsible communication, I believe this issue with Meta’s hate speech policy overhaul is not just about content — it’s about global digital ethics, governance, and the growing imbalance between freedom and protection.
Let’s unpack the issue with spiritual clarity and strategic sense. 👇
🧠 What Happened?
In early 2025, Meta (formerly Facebook) made sweeping changes to its hate speech policies, including:
Ending its fact-checking program in the United States
Easing restrictions on content that previously targeted people based on gender identity, religion, and sexual orientation
Allowing certain dehumanizing language, especially against vulnerable groups (e.g., calling LGBTQ individuals “mentally ill”)
Reducing oversight just as President Trump’s second term began
The Meta Oversight Board, a semi-independent body formed to ensure ethical review, strongly criticized this overhaul, calling it rushed, opaque, and lacking global responsibility.
“It’s like changing the rules of Dharma without consulting the sages.”
🔥 Why the Oversight Board Criticized Meta
🚨 Lack of Transparency
Meta did not publish any human rights impact assessments before rolling out these changes — despite knowing that such shifts can lead to mass misinformation, hate, and online violence.
⚠️ Risk of Global Harm
What’s “safe” in the U.S. context may become explosive in regions facing political instability, communal tension, or state suppression.
“One flame in California may be an inferno in Kenya, India, or Myanmar.”
🗣️ Removal of Protective Barriers
By loosening restrictions on dehumanizing speech, Meta has made it easier for:
Hate speech to flourish
Online bullying to rise
Minority voices to be suppressed
Even Community Notes (which replaced real fact-checkers) are based on “crowdsourced judgment,” not verified truth.
🧘 Guruji’s Digital Dharma Standpoint
As a Sanatani, I believe that freedom of speech is sacred.
But so is responsibility for the words we spread.
✅ Platforms like Meta hold immense power — almost like a digital government
✅ With 3+ billion users, their decisions impact global consciousness
✅ They must balance free expression with satya (truth), ahimsa (non-violence), and nyay (justice)
“In our tradition, the tongue is a weapon and a healing tool. Meta must decide which path it follows.”
💡 What Needs to Be Done?
Here’s what I would advise as a digital reformer and coach:
1. Global Human Rights Due Diligence
Meta must conduct and publish impact assessments for every major policy shift.
2. Strengthen Oversight, Not Weaken It
Crowdsourced “notes” should not replace expert fact-checkers, especially in sensitive topics.
3. Different Regions, Different Rules
Policy uniformity must give way to context-sensitive moderation, rooted in local laws, cultures, and threats.
4. Digital Dharma Training
Social media employees, developers, and policy makers must undergo training in digital ethics, cultural empathy, and the Sanatani principle of “Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah” (May all beings be happy).
🧾 Final Realization:
Meta’s Oversight Board was right to criticize the company.
This is not just a content issue. It is a consciousness issue.
And if left unchecked, it may set dangerous precedents — where platforms protect profit over people, and AI replaces accountability.
“Let us not build a digital universe where Dharma is defeated in the name of Dialogue.”
✍️ Answered by:
💠 Guruji Sunil Chaudhary – India’s Leading Digital Success Coach
🚀 Founder – Career Building School (formerly TAMS Studies) & JustBaazaar
🌱 Digital Ethics Advocate | Sanatani Commentator | Voice of Dharma in the Digital Era
📍 1,100+ Clients Served | 30,000+ Learners Impacted | Thought Leader on Digital Responsibility
🕉️ “Tech must evolve, but Dharma must prevail.”
🇮🇳 Jai Sanatan • Vande Mataram
