Meta's oversight board on Monday reversed the company's decision to delete any post on the Facebook platform that included the slogan "Death to Khamenei," saying it did not violate the rule prohibiting violent threats.
The council - which is funded by the company but operates independently - said in its decision that the phrase is mostly used in the sense of "Down with Khamenei," referring to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The board urged the company to develop better ways to redact posts on such matters in line with its content policies, and to clearly outline the circumstances in which verbal threats to state leaders are permitted.
Iran has been witnessing protests since mid-September, following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the morality police for wearing "inappropriate clothes."
The protests caused a dilemma that has become a recurring dilemma for Meta, which has repeatedly wavered in its approach to the violent political statements it publishes on its platforms.
The company bans any method that incites "serious violence", but aims to avoid going too far by limiting enforcement to credible threats, leading to uncertainty about when and how the rule is enforced.
After Russia's war on Ukraine last year, for example, Meta adopted a temporary exemption allowing calling for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin, to provide an outlet for users in the region to express their anger about the war, before canceling it days later, according to Reuters.