Facebook Oversight Board Launches This Week

Starting this week, Facebook users will finally be able to submit content moderation cases to the company’s independent Oversight Board. This “supreme court” of Facebook will judge whether content has been rightfully or wrongfully removed under the social media giant’s policies.

To submit a case, users will need to visit the Oversight Board website and click “Submit an Appeal.” Then users will have the opportunity to answer questions and explain why they’re appealing Facebook’s decision.

While it isn’t immediately clear how many cases the panel of 20 experts will handle, the ones they choose could set a powerful precedent for Facebook moving forward. In fact, the board has said that it’s deliberately seeking decisions that will affect the broadest possible swath of users.

“I don’t think there’s any question that — even though [the board] will take only a handful of cases in the beginning — that those cases have the power and potential to be spectacularly influential into the world,” Facebook director of governance Brent Harris said. “The scope for this board is broad and has been built to really address a wide array of difficult content decisions.”

 Because of the size and probable slowness of the board, it’s unlikely that everyday users will feel its affects anytime soon. Still, it’s a good thing that a dedicated group now exists to hold Facebook to account.


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