By Kimberly Chin 

Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said Friday that the company will review existing policies on how it handles content related to civil unrest or violence, as the company faces criticism over its decision to not moderate or take down some posts.

Facebook said it will review its policies on content concerning threats of state use of force as well as content in countries with civil unrest or violent conflicts. While the company has some policies in place that call for greater restrictions during emergencies and countries undergoing conflict, "there may be additional policies or integrity measures to consider around discussion or threats of state use of force when a country is in this state," Mr. Zuckerberg said.

Mr. Zuckerberg's memo to employees -- which was also posted publicly on Facebook -- comes after the company's employees staged a virtual walkout Monday over the CEO's decision to leave up a post from President Trump about the recent social unrest. Critics say the president's post violated Facebook's rules about inciting violence.

More than a dozen employees have spoken out on Twitter Inc. against Mr. Zuckerberg's decision to keep up the president's post, which called demonstrators thugs and warned: "When the looting starts, the shooting starts."

Facebook said it refrains from fact-checking or removing politicians' posts on the platform but will take down posts that glorify violence and spread voter misinformation. Mr. Zuckerberg said Friday he believes the policy is principled and reasonable, but he also respects that people may believe there are better alternatives.

Facebook will review potential options for dealing with violations or partial violations of its content policy "aside from the binary leave-it-up or take-it-down decisions," he said.

The company will also work on products that advance racial justice, he said, and has named Fidji Simo, head of the Facebook app, to take charge of the project.

Facebook also pledged to build a voter hub to provide users with "access to accurate and authoritative information about voting," as well as develop tools that encourage voter registration and help users encourage their friends and communities to vote, he said.

Write to Kimberly Chin at kimberly.chin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 05, 2020 21:57 ET (01:57 GMT)