Facebook makes U-turn on beheading videos Facebook has bowed to pressure to remove videos of people being beheaded from its network, reversing its policies on violent content after an outcry from campaign groups and Prime Minister David Cameron. A video showing a woman being decapitated by a masked executioner in Mexico had been allowed to remain on the site for weeks, on the basis that it was not being used to celebrate or encourage violence. But late on Tuesday Facebook decided to remove the video as pressure mounted on the site, with the UK prime minister accusing the social media platform of being "irresponsible." The company said in a blog post that it was "strengthening the enforcement of our policies" and would "take a more holistic look at the context surrounding a violent image or video." The U-turn underscores the challenges for Facebook in terms of balancing the needs of its 1.1bn users, some of whom share graphic images to highlight events in oppressive regimes. "We ask that people who share graphic content for the purpose of condemning it do so in a responsible manner, carefully selecting their audience and warning them about the nature of the content so they can make an informed choice about it," Facebook said. Sean Gallagher, an editor at Index on Censorship, a group that promotes freedom of expression, said: "Films about beheadings may be deeply upsetting and offensive, but they do expose the reality of violent acts that are taking place in the world today. When trying to draw a line about what should or shouldn't be allowed, it's important to look at context not just content. Facebook has been criticised from all sides about its content policies. This year it was inundated with complaints from major advertisers who objected to their ads being placed next to offensive content. Marks and Spencer, the UK retailer, and BSkyB, the UK broadcaster, both suspended all or part of their spending with Facebook in May after their brands appeared next to "inappropriate" content on the site showing photographs of teenage boys. Facebook responded to the concerns in June by creating a "safe zone" to ensure that brands did not appear next to offensive images and postings. This potential solution for advertisers is far from foolproof, however, with ads for car-sharing firm Zipcar appearing next to one of the beheading videos before it was removed.