A global expert panel has picked two new cases from Facebook and Instagram to explore whether Meta’s handling of public discussion on the sensitive topic of gender identity can be improved.
The Oversight Board, a global body of experts that reviews Meta’s most difficult and significant decisions related to content on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, picked two new cases for consideration.
The Board is, at least currently, limited in capacity. Therefore, when picking new cases, it prioritizes ones that have the potential to affect lots of users around the world, are of critical importance to public discourse or raise important questions about Meta’s policies.
This time around, the topic of picked cases is the debate around gender identity and how it has been portrayed by two videos shared on the platform:
“In the first case, a Facebook user in the United States posted a video of a woman confronting a transgender woman for using the women’s bathroom. The post refers to the person being confronted as a man and asks why it is permitted for them to use a women’s bathroom.
“In the second case, an Instagram account posted a video of a transgender girl winning a female sports competition in the United States, with some spectators vocally disapproving of the result. The post refers to the athlete as a boy, questioning whether they are female.”
The Board clarifies that both posts were shared this year and were subsequently reported multiple times under Hate Speech and Bullying and Harassment policy.
