Meta’s oversight board is investigating two anti-transgender posts from 2024 that have been reported multiple times for hate speech, bullying and harassment. The first is a video shared on Facebook showing a trans woman being attacked by another woman in the restroom. The post falsely identifies the person as a man and questions why they are allowed to use a women’s restroom. The other case concerns a video posted on Instagram showing a transgender girl winning a women’s sports competition, with some viewers audibly expressing their disapproval. The post also falsely identifies the athlete as a boy.

The company’s hate speech policy prohibits any direct attacks on a person based on their gender identity. Yet in both cases, Meta left the post online after users reported it. After individual appeals to the panel, Meta reviewed the post again under its hate speech and bullying and harassment policies and reached the same conclusion. Meta also told the panel that it would have left the Facebook post online anyway because it was newsworthy, as “transgender people’s access to restrooms consistent with their gender identity is the subject of significant policy debate in the United States.”

The user who objected to the Facebook post argued to the panel that Meta allows a transphobic post on one of its platforms. The claim for the Instagram post was that the attacks directed at the athlete violated Meta’s community standards.

The panel is now asking the public for comment until September 12 on aspects such as Meta’s policies, the challenges of enforcing them, and how the content of each post and accompanying video might be viewed from a sociopolitical context. It is combining these two cases “to assess whether Meta’s approach to moderating discussions about gender identity respects users’ freedom of expression and the rights of transgender and nonbinary people.” Meta has 60 days to respond once the panel makes a recommendation.

This latest case is part of a consistent pattern by Meta of violating the rights and well-being of transgender people. Last year, the panel ruled that Meta was wrong to delete two Instagram posts by a transgender and nonbinary couple with bare chests but covered nipples. Both posts were about transgender healthcare and how they were raising money so one of them could afford gender reassignment surgery. Meta argued the posts violated its sexual solicitation policy after receiving user reports and automatic system alerts. The couple then appealed to Meta and the panel, after which Meta reversed its decision. The panel investigated the case nonetheless and concluded that the posts should never have been deleted.

Outside bodies have also criticized Meta’s lack of protections. Earlier this year, LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD released a report outlining how Meta fails to enforce its own anti-trans hate speech policies. The report showed dozens of clear examples of hate speech on Facebook, Instagram, and threads between June 2023 and March 2024, including transphobic slurs, dehumanizing language, and promotion of conversion therapy.