When Facebook first created its Oversight Board, it envisioned the group to be a supreme court for its most controversial content moderation decisions. Whatever the board recommended, Facebook would consider, thus saving it from having to make big unpopular decisions by itself. However, while the company has touted this group’s independence, it can reject its decisions whenever it wants. For instance, this week, Facebook rejected an order that would require it to censor the former Cambodian prime minister for inciting violence.

In June, the Board called on Facebook to immediately suspend the Facebook and Instagram accounts of minister Hun Sen for his use of the platforms to amplify threats against his opponents. However, this week, Facebook said that the former leader’s accounts do not meet the threshold to be banned. For its part, the Board strongly disagreed with the decision, and asked Facebook to reconsider.

“Elections are a crucial part of democracy and social media companies must ensure their platforms are not misused in ways which threaten to undermine them,” an Oversight Board spokesperson said. “The Board stands by its original decision and urges Meta to do everything in its power to deter public figures who exploit its platforms to incite violence.”

Facebook may be proud of its so-called “independent” Board, but as long as the company has the power to ignore it, it’s unclear how much good it can actually accomplish.

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