The watchdog said its analysis of nearly eight million Facebook comments directed at 100 members of Congress found a significant rise in threatening and abusive content during the six months following Meta’s policy changes compared with the previous six-month period.

According to the report, violent threats against lawmakers from both major political parties, including explicit calls for murder, increased fourfold after the moderation rollback. Harassment more than doubled, while racist and gender-based abuse also rose substantially.

The CCDH said the increase extended beyond lawmakers, with comments advocating violence against President Donald Trump also rising after the changes. The organization argued that reduced enforcement of platform rules against threats, hate speech and harassment contributed to a more hostile online environment.

“When platforms stop enforcing their own rules against threats, hate, and harassment, they become complicit in normalizing intimidation and harassment of elected officials,” CCDH Chief Executive Imran Ahmed said in a statement accompanying the report.

Meta disputed suggestions that harmful content had increased on its platforms. A company spokesperson said Meta regularly publishes transparency reports tracking policy violations and maintained that the prevalence of hateful conduct did not rise during 2025.

The company said it had not received the CCDH report before publication and therefore could not specifically address its findings.

The debate comes amid broader concerns about the safety of public officials in the United States. Lawmakers, election officials and other public figures have reported increasing levels of threats and intimidation in recent years, prompting renewed scrutiny of online platforms and their role in moderating harmful content.

Republican Senator John Curtis of Utah described the findings as troubling, particularly against a backdrop of recent politically motivated violence. He said reductions in oversight of violent, hateful and harassing content could contribute to an increase in such behavior online.

Meta’s moderation changes followed a broader shift in policy that included ending partnerships with independent fact-checkers in the United States in January 2025 and adopting a Community Notes system that relies on users to add context to disputed claims. The approach mirrors a model popularized by Elon Musk’s social media platform X.

The policy adjustments were viewed by critics as part of a wider effort to address longstanding complaints from conservative groups that fact-checking systems restricted free expression and disproportionately affected right-leaning viewpoints.

Meta also eased some restrictions governing discussions related to gender and sexual identity, drawing criticism from advocacy organizations that warned the changes could increase exposure to harmful and discriminatory content.

The CCDH report is likely to intensify debate over the balance between free expression and platform safety as policymakers, technology companies and civil society groups continue to grapple with the impact of online speech on democratic institutions and public officials.