Every platform has rules about what can be posted. Meta calls them Community Standards, TikTok calls them Community Guidelines, and YouTube has Community Guidelines with a strike system. They are public, and they change. A page manager who has never read them is guessing with the client's page.
What the rules cover
The details differ, but most platforms cover similar areas:
- Safety. Violence, threats, dangerous acts and content that could harm children.
- Respect. Hate speech, bullying and harassment.
- Honesty. Spam, fake accounts, impersonation, scams and misleading claims.
- Adult content. Nudity and sexual content.
- Regulated goods. Selling or promoting medicines and drugs, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, betting and similar products often has extra rules or is not allowed at all, especially in ads.
- Intellectual property. Using music, videos, photos or logos you do not have the right to use.
Common ways business pages break rules by accident
- Music. Adding a popular song to a business video. TikTok recommends its Commercial Music Library for any post that promotes a brand, product or service, because its licences for other music do not cover commercial use. Meta offers Sound Collection, free music cleared for use on Facebook and Instagram. Songs from elsewhere can be muted or removed.