General Studies- II (Effect of policies of developed countries)

Gist Of Editorials

08 May 2021

Facebook’s Oversight Board, recently upheld the social media network’s decision on January 7 to block the then-US President Donald Trump from its platform.

What is the Oversight Board?

The Oversight Board has been set up as an independent body that will help Facebook figure out what content can be allowed on the platform and what ought to be removed.

• The Facebook Oversight Board is a group created by Facebook to which users can appeal important company decisions.
• First proposed in a 2018 blog post by Zuckerberg, It formally started deliberating in October 2020.
• It has also been called “Facebook’s Supreme Court,” though it has no government affiliation or legal standing.

Its funding and independence:

• Though it is funded by a $130 million trust created by Facebook, the board says it is an independent and neutral third party.
• Its goal is to review moderation decisions made by the company and decide whether they were “made in accordance with its stated values.”

Composition of Oversight Board:

• The board is currently made of 20 people from around the world who are experts in things like journalism, misinformation, freedom of speech and extremism.
• The original goal was to have 40 members total, and more will continue to be added.

How does the board’s decision work?

First a case has to be referred to the board, either by Facebook itself or through direct submissions from users who disagree with Facebook taking down their content or leaving someone else’s up.

• The board selects a panel of five of its members, including at least one person from the country where the case is based.
• They are not named publicly so they cannot be lobbied.
• The panel meets over Zoom and considers Facebook’s own lengthy Community Standards bylaws and consults with outside experts and organizations.
• The panel tries to reach a unanimous decision, but technically it needs only a simple majority.
• It then takes its decision and presents it to the full board, which can overrule the finding if a majority of board members disagree with it.

Board’s recommendations to Facebook?

The Board wants Facebook to act quickly when it comes to content of a political nature coming from influential users.

• Its idea is to escalate such content to specialised staff as also assess potential harms from such accounts.
• It also wants Facebook to be more transparent about its policies regarding assistance to investigations as well as its penalty rules.

Source: The Hindu/ The Washington Post