LU contributor Joe Newby has a must-read post this week about new content guidelines for users who seek to monetize their Facebook postings (i.e., because that’s how they make a living).  As Joe points out, that field includes a lot of conservative bloggers – such as Liberty Unyielding.

And the new guidelines, instead of bringing clarity or confidence to bloggers’ transactions with Facebook, will apparently function like a minefield.

Joe lays out clearly how the wording of the Facebook guidelines is such that their interpretation can be completely arbitrary.  See this, for example:

We can pretty much agree that over-the-top content like gore and pornography are off limits, but there are a few areas of these guidelines that are quite disturbing to those of us who write and read about current issues.

Under the heading of “Debated Social Issues” is this:

Content that is incendiary, inflammatory, demeaning or disparages people, groups, or causes is not eligible for ads. Content that features or promotes attacks on people or groups is generally not eligible for ads, even if in the context of news or awareness purposes.

That’s it — no definition of what is considered “incendiary, inflammatory, demeaning or disparages people, groups, or causes,” is provided. Additionally, the phrase “even if in the context of news or awareness purposes” is pretty jaw-dropping.

I reached out to multiple people at Facebook for clarification of these guidelines and, as is so often the case, received no response. So I have no choice but to take these guidelines literally.