The social media giant has expanded the scope of its Oversight Board to now allow appeals to be made on content that has been left up. Here’s an explainer of the process and what the board is aiming to achieve.
You can appeal content left up on Facebook or Instagram to its Oversight Board, the social media giant has proclaimed. But what exactly does this mean and who is this Oversight Board? Firstly, the Oversight Board touts itself as being created to help Facebook answer questions around freedom of expression: What to take down, what to leave up, and why. “The board uses its independent judgment to support people’s right to free expression and ensure that those rights are being adequately respected,” it writes. “The board’s decisions to uphold or reverse Facebook’s content decisions will be binding, meaning that Facebook will have to implement them, unless doing so could violate the law.” A few quick facts: The board will eventually consist of 40 members from a range of disciplines. Currently on the board are 10 men and nine women representing Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Denmark, Hungary, Israel, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan, Senegal, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
