The site is comfortable with such violence as it believes these videos can serve a purpose

Oct 22, 2013 09:24 GMT  ·  By

Facebook is once again allowing some violent videos to be shown on the site. In particular, human beheadings are now OK in its view, as long as they are not celebrated in any way. The site had previously banned such clips after some public outcry, but it has reversed that ban now.

The company told the BBC that it believed people should be able to post videos like these for others to watch and condemn. Facebook has always had a strange relationship with free speech and this latest development is no different.

Critics argue that such graphic violence could cause serious psychological damage to viewers, particularly younger ones. Even a few seconds of a video like this is enough to leave a mark on an impressionable mind.

Facebook seemed to agree and instituted a ban on such clips in May. At the time, civil rights groups argued that even this kind of videos has valuable contribution to public discourse and should not be outright banned from such a large platform of distribution.

The company now seems to agree with those critics. It is however considering adding a warning before such graphic clips to make it possible for viewers to walk away if they stumble upon one in their feed or in a post. The site also removes ads shown alongside posts with graphic violence.

"Facebook has long been a place where people turn to share their experiences, particularly when they're connected to controversial events on the ground, such as human rights abuses, acts of terrorism and other violent events," a spokeswoman told the BBC.

In case you were wondering, Facebook's newfound love for free speech stops at graphic violence. Explicit images of another nature are strictly forbidden, even if they're just breastfeeding photos. The site, like most of Western culture, particularly US culture, is much more comfortable with beheadings than natural human acts.