This week, Meta Platforms Inc META, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads, announced significant changes to its content moderation policies, shifting toward a "community notes" model where users flag questionable content instead of relying on third-party fact-checkers.

“So, we're going to continue to focus these systems on tackling illegal and high-severity violations, like terrorism, child sexual exploitation, drugs, fraud and scams,” said CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has implied that he’s keen to work with President-elect Donald Trump, after having banned him from his platforms.

"Too much harmless content gets censored, too many people find themselves wrongly locked up in ‘Facebook jail,' and we are often too slow to respond when they do," said Zuckerberg, referring to the automated systems that scan for policy violations but can make mistakes. "We want to fix that and return to that fundamental commitment to free expression. Today, we're making some changes to stay true to that ideal."

Why Then Is Cannabis Still In Facebook Jail?

For those in the cannabis community, whether medical marijuana patients or industry advocates and news outlets, the announcement seems to leave their concerns unaddressed.

Despite these changes, Meta continues to block searches for terms like "marijuana" and "cannabis." Searches for organizations such as the "Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission," "Marijuana Policy Project," or "Marijuana Moment," the cannabis outlet that pointed out these contradictions, yield no results. Instead users find the following notification: "If you see the sale of drugs, please report it."

This approach persists even as many states have legalized marijuana, hamstringing businesses, advocates and content creators who have had their accounts suspended or restricted.

Meta's statement regarding illegal activities essentially suggests there has been no shift in its stance on cannabis, which it apparently has filed under its list of "high severity violations, like terrorism, drugs, fraud, and scams."

Meta did not respond to Benzinga's request for clarification on whether or how the new policies would impact its treatment of cannabis-related content. For now, the cannabis community remains sidelined, despite the company's rhetoric about embracing free expression and reducing censorship.

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