The comments follow a Wall Street Journal report last month
that said millions of Facebook accounts belonging to celebrities, politicians,
and other high-profile users were exempted from some internal checks.
The board said that Facebook has not been transparent with
the company's 'cross-check' system, an internal program the social media
network says is used to double-check enforcement actions against certain users.
"Facebook needs to commit to greater transparency and
to treat users fairly," the board said in a tweet.
In relation to its May decision to uphold the indefinite
suspension of former US President Donald Trump's account after the January 6
riot, the board said when Facebook referred the case, it did not mention the
cross-check system until it was asked.
"Given that the referral included a specific policy
question about account-level enforcement for political leaders, many of whom
the Board believes were covered by cross-check, this omission is not
acceptable," it said.
Facebook, in the form of a policy advisory opinion, has
asked the board to review its cross-check system and make recommendations on
how it can be changed.
A company spokesperson said the board's work had been
"impactful," which is why it asked for input into the cross-check
system.
Facebook created the board mainly to address criticism over
how it handles problematic content and is responsible for independent verdicts
on a number of thorny decisions related content moderation.
Going forward, the board will publish quarterly and annual
transparency reports to provide assessment on whether its recommendations were
implemented.
In its first quarterly report, the board said over half a
million Facebook and Instagram users submitted appeals between October 2020 and
the end of June 2021, of which more than a third were related to content
concerning Facebook's rules on hate speech. -Reuters
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