JAKARTA - The Meta Supervisory Board on Wednesday, December 14 canceled a decision to remove videos shared on Instagram that showed the terrible result of an attack on a Nigerian church that killed at least 40 people.
Video showing the body immovable and covered in blood on the floor, as a result of a church attack that took place on June 5 in Owo, southwest Nigeria, was shared by an Instagram user on the same day.
Meta removes the video, saying the hashtag added by the user can be read as glorifying violence and minimizing suffering. Users appeal against deletion to independent councils.
The board on Wednesday asked Meta to restore posts with a "disturbing content" warning screen, saying it would protect victim privacy while allowing discussions of the incident.
"Nigeria is experiencing a series of ongoing terrorist attacks and the Nigerian government has suppressed coverage of some of them, although it does not appear to have been carried out in connection with the June 5 attacks," the council said. "The council agrees that in such a context freedom of expression is essential."
Nigerian authorities have accused insurgents from Islamic State groups in West Africa of carrying out attacks on the Catholic Church of St Francis, which took place during Sunday's mass. Five suspects were arrested in August.
The Nigerian government has been looking for ways to regulate the use of social media in Africa's most populous country. Millions of Nigerians are active users of YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok.
The West African nation has asked Google to block the use of YouTube channels and live streaming by banned groups and terrorist organizations in the country.
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