Can we finally forgive Facebook?
Facebook announced the creation of its Oversight Board. What is it? What’s the purpose? Can it serve other tech companies?
Marc Zuckerberg has long been working on regaining customers’ trust in the company. The Cambridge Analytica’s interference with the U.S. election and the genocide in Myanmar that was supported by posts on the site inciting violence has pushed FB teams to take action.
It paved the way to FB nominating of its Oversight Board. The board will serve Facebook and Instagram customers to appeal when their content has been removed. The board will also provide advice to the two companies on different policy questions.
Who sits on this board?
20 members for now. This number can eventually grow to 40 people. It includes Helle Thorning-Schmidt, former prime minister of Denmark; Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of The Guardian; Tawakkul Karman, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who promoted non-violent change in Yemen during the Arab Spring; Julie Owono, leader of Africa’s Internet Without Borders; Sudhir Krishnaswamy, vice chancellor of the National Law School of India University; and Andras Sajo, former judge and vice president of the European Court of Human Rights.
Facebook wanted to design this board to be impressive and it achieved it.
Can it overrule Mark Zuckerberg?
The board will be made separate from Facebook and Instagram. It will be empowered to overrule decisions made by Facebook’s army of content moderators or executives and even the CEO.
However, we might need to wait until the board and Mark Zuckerberg go after each others decisions. After all, that would be detrimental to Facebook image.
How will the Oversight Board work?
In its press release, Facebook mentioned the development of a ‘Case Management Tool’. A process and strict timeline that guides the review of every case.
The request for review can come for two sources:
- Facebook Users ie. anyone who disagrees with the outcome of Facebook’s decision to take down their content on Instagram or Facebook, and has exhausted appeals, will have 15 days to submit an appeal to the board.
- Facebook itself will be able to directly refer significant and difficult cases.
All decisions will go into a database that will serve as precedent for future decisions, much like traditional court systems.
Can it inspire other Tech Companies?
It is widely known that other tech giants face similar issues: Google on Google Ads, YouTube on Content Approval, Twitter on Posts approval, … The board that FB created is truly an innovation and can be a source of inspiration.
Furthermore, if the board happens to be a success, it can be used and serve other big tech companies as well. When Harvard Business Review spoke with Noah Feldman from Harvard Law School, who advises Zuckerberg, he shared that he imagine other tech companies one day bringing their predicaments to the Oversight Board if they agreed the decision would be binding.
I strongly believe that it is the right move forward for Facebook by demonstrating the company’s will self-regulate.
The Oversight Board “won’t please everyone,” Mr. McConnell also noted. Of course not. But a group from 27 countries and that speak at least 29 languages can only help Facebook pages, groups, and posts become safer for all of us.
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