The move has the potential to vastly expand the work of the
so-called "supreme court" of Facebook, which up to now had been
tasked with reviewing instances of whether content was improperly taken down
from Facebook or Instagram.
The Oversight Board, set up by Facebook to deal with
contentious questions of content moderation, began operating last year and
issued its first rulings in January. The decisions, which can overrule Facebook
management, are binding.
"Enabling users to appeal content they want to see
removed from Facebook is a significant expansion of the Oversight Board's
capabilities," said Thomas Hughes, director of the body's administration.
"The board was created to ensure that fewer decisions
about highly significant content issues be taken by Facebook alone, and that
better decisions can be delivered through an independent and transparent
process that works to safeguard human rights and freedom of expression. Today's
announcement is another step towards realizing this."
The announcement comes with Facebook and other social
platforms facing intense pressure to act on misinformation and abusive content,
ranging from election-related hoaxes to unproven Covid-19 treatments.
After you have exhausted Facebook’s appeals process, you will receive an Oversight Board Reference ID and can appeal the decision to the Board. As content will be live on Facebook and Instagram, many people will be able to report the same piece of content.
— Oversight Board (@OversightBoard) April 13, 2021
Users who feel that harmful posts, photos, videos, comments
and shares remain online will be able to appeal to the panel to have them
removed.
As part of the new process, the panel will establish
procedures including privacy protections for users seeking takedown requests.
"We expect everyone on Facebook and Instagram to be
able to appeal content left up over the coming weeks," said Guy Rosen,
head of integrity at Facebook.
"We're glad the Oversight Board is expanding their
scope and impact, and look forward to their future decisions and
recommendations."
Today’s expansion of the Board’s powers is a significant milestone. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be rolling this out to all users.
— Oversight Board (@OversightBoard) April 13, 2021
Emily Bell, director of the Columbia University Tow Center
for Digital Journalism, said the change means "a very big escalation of
the remit of the Oversight Board," and could move Facebook closer to
transformation into a media company.
"This is what a news-driven media company does, and
this is what Facebook is. (Facebook CEO Mark) Zuckerberg cannot do this
himself, nor can his board of directors and senior executives," Bell said
on Twitter.
"So the Oversight Board becomes in fact a default
editorial board."
Jo Lukito, a professor with the University of Texas Center for
Media Engagement, said it remained unclear if Facebook will be overwhelmed by a
deluge of takedown requests.
"Facebook's Oversight Board lacks infrastructure to
handle what will likely be a large influx of cases," Lukito said.
"Given Facebook's lack of transparency and consistency
when dealing with various misinformation cases, it is unclear whether this
expansion of the Oversight Board's purview would actually ensure misinformation
is systematically removed from the social media platform."
An activist group which calls itself "The Real Facebook
Oversight Board" said the new effort falls short.
"By empowering their Oversight Board to do their job
for them, Facebook is washing its hands of the toughest decisions the company
itself should be making," the group said in a statement.
Members of Facebook's Oversight Board come from various
countries and include jurists, human rights activists, journalists, a Nobel
Peace laureate and a former Danish prime minister.
The panel is reviewing tens of thousands of cases, including
Facebook's decision banning former US president Donald Trump.
In one ruling issued Tuesday, the panel upheld Facebook's
decision to remove a video posted by someone in the Netherlands showing a young
child meeting adults with their faces painted black, dressed to portray
"Zwarte Piet," or Black Pete, a folklore personality known in the
region as a companion of Saint Nicholas.
"The Oversight Board upheld Facebook's decision after a
majority found sufficient evidence of harm to justify the removal," the
board said, noting that the images are linked to "racist
stereotypes."
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