Meta’s Oversight Board says phrase ‘From the River to the Sea’ should not be banned

A new ruling from regarding the use of the phrase “From the River to the Sea” found that it does not violate the platforms’ policies on hate speech, violence and incitement or dangerous organizations and individuals. The board also said in its ruling that the three flagged cases that used the phrase highlight the need for greater access to Facebook’s Content Library for qualified researchers, civil society groups and journalists who previously had access to CrowdTangle.

The ruling looked at three pieces of Facebook content containing the phrase “From the River to the Sea,” a phrase considered by many to be pro-Palestianthat referring to the stretch of land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. The rallying cry is a politically charged one with different interpretations and meanings. Critics of the phrase like the call it an “anti-semetic slogan commonly featured in anti-Israel campaigns.” Others like US Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who the House censured last year for using the phrase in statements about the Israel-Gaza war, called it “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction or hate,” according to the .

The board ruled that the phrase itself is not a “standalone phrase” calling for violence against a group of people, the exclusion of a particular group of people or a blanket stance of support for Hamas. The board also said it’s “vital” that Meta’s platforms assess the context surrounding the use of the phrase while assessing content from its users.

“Because the phrase does not have a single meaning, a blanket ban on content that includes the phrase, a default rule towards removal of such content, or even using it as a signal to trigger enforcement or review, would hinder protected political speech in unacceptable ways,” the ruling reads.

The board also raised concerns about Meta’s decision to shut down in August in its research on content and called for greater transparency to the new system. CrowdStrike was a free research tool used by news outlets, researchers and other groups to learn the dissemination of information on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Meta replaced the data tool with the Meta Content Library, a much more tightly controlled data examination system with much stricter access rules. The Content Library restricts access to applicants to those who work with “a qualified academic institution or a qualified research institution” committed to “a not-for-profit endeavor,” according to .

The oversight board recommended that Meta onboard qualified researchers, groups and journalists within three weeks of submitting an application. The board also recommended that Meta “ensure its Content Library is a suitable replacement for CrowdTangle,” according to the ruling.