Facebook adds option to remove comments function on public posts
Facebook is updating its platform to allow a public post to have comments limited or completely disabled.
The move was announced in a blog post by Facebook product manager Ramya Sethuraman. While some Australian pages are already seeing the new option, the full roll-out will be completed in the coming weeks.
While Facebook profile accounts can already limit comment on all public posts from the account-level, where the options are: Public, Friends, and Friends of Friends, this new feature allows users to update that setting for an individual public post, where the options are: Public, Friends, and Profiles and Pages they mention.
“By adjusting your commenting audience, you can further control how you want to invite conversation onto your public posts and limit potentially unwanted interactions,” Sethuraman wrote. “And if you’re a public figure, creator or brand, you too can choose to limit your commenting audience on your public posts to help you feel safe and engage in more meaningful conversations with your community.”
This means, that if a Facebook page for a media outlet wanted to share content, it can now prohibit any comments by selecting the new option. This would limit further litigation under defamation laws, which in the past has resulted in successful claims against media outlets by individuals cited in the comments on Facebook.
“Limiting who can comment on an organic public post may impact the distribution of that post, as commenting is one factor, among many others, that can affect its reach. This feature is intended to be used reactively in the case of harassment and other types of unwanted interactions,” said a Facebook spokesperson.
“Currently, the commenting option selected will only apply to organic public posts on your page or profile. If you boost a post after limiting who can comment, the settings will no longer apply and anyone will be able to comment on the post. Additionally, this setting will not apply to custom privacy on posts, where you can choose to target specific geographies or age groups.”
The new feature is also not available to use on ads and will not apply to a shared post, whereby if the original post had comments restricted or disabled, the shared version does not automatically have the same.
Additional new features on the Facebook platform include a snooze function, where users can temporarily hide posts from a person, page, or group, and the ability to turn off political ads.
Mumbrella removed content from its Facebook account in 2019 due to the litigation liability of comments on stories. This latest development will see it now return to the platform.
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Olivia Kruimel is the managing editor at Mumbrella. She has more than 15 years of experience in journalism, communications and marketing. Her journalism career began at Fairfax Media (now part of Nine) and includes various B2B publications such as B&T, Travel Today and ALB. As a marketer Olivia has worked for Standard Chartered and various global law firms.
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