Facebook is denying that a special relationship exists between the company and law enforcement officials following a statement from a senior Chicago Police Department officer suggesting otherwise.
During a panel at the annual conference for the International Association of Chiefs of Police on Oct. 21, a senior police officer from the Chicago police department said that his panel was working with Facebook to block content deemed criminal.
Facebook, however, is denying that the officer’s comments imply a special relationship exists between law enforcement officials and the company.
“Content reported by law enforcement is subject to the same review applied to reports from anyone using Facebook,” a Facebook spokesperson told The Daily Caller on Sunday.
“There is no special partnership. We evaluate these reports based on our community standards, and as always, may remove information that violates our policies,” said the spokesperson.
Types of content that could be deemed criminal, such as hate speech, pornography and copyright infringing material are identified by Facebook’s Community Standards and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.
The company’s Safety Center page also indicates that not every law enforcement request is granted.
“If Facebook receives an official request for account records, we first establish the legitimacy of the request,” states Facebook.