Women’s participation in Indonesian politics has been encouraged through various policies over the decades, but their representation in parliament has not yet reached the 30% target. One of the barriers to this participation is the rampant hate speech against female politicians, which has been found to discourage women from participating in political contestations. In the 2024 elections, many instances of hate speech targeting female political candidates were still found. The ineffectiveness of Meta’s content moderation is one of the causes.
Meta prohibits hate speech based on protected characteristics such as race, ethnicity, and gender. However, in its Community Standards concerning bullying and harassment, public figures, including female politicians, are less protected than regular users on the basis of ensuring freedom of expression. Unfortunately, this policy has instead removed protections for vulnerable female politicians from hate speech and harassment. Additionally, there is ambiguity in Meta’s Community Standards regarding the boundary between hate speech and gender-based harassment, worsening the inconsistency of their content moderation.
This briefing note argues that Meta’s Community Standards, which allow gender-based hate speech against female political candidates, are inconsistent with international human rights standards because:
(1) Gender-based hate speech is not protected as part of freedom of expression;
(2) Gender-based hate speech is a result of a patriarchal culture that oppresses women;
(3) Gender-based hate speech can undermine the integrity of elections and hinder women’s political participation;
(4) Women should be free from discrimination, especially in politics;
(5) Gender-based hate speech constitutes psychological violence against women; and
(6) There are many recommendations from international human rights bodies to strengthen the protection of women, including political candidates.
Therefore, this briefing note recommends three actions for Meta to adopt in its Community Standards and overall content moderation policies: (1) Gender-based harassment should be considered hate speech against women; (2) Female political candidates should be classified as public figures with limited purposes; and (3) Crisis policy protocols during elections need to be improved and strengthened.
