Oversight Board Criticizes Facebook For Lack Of Transparency Over Giving Users Special Treatment

Facebook has been overwhelmed with so many controversies lately that it’s hard to keep them all straight. But before the Facebook whistleblower turned the company’s world upside down, it found itself in hot water over a system on its platform called “cross-check” that allows high-profile users to post basically anything they want with no repercussions. Now, Facebook’s independent Oversight Board has issued a report on the feature, slamming the social media giant for a lack of transparency.

In the report, the Oversight Board says that Facebook initially described the cross-check system as affecting a small amount of decisions. However, the Board found that it applies to over six million users. The Board also ruled that Facebook was not upfront about the program when pressed about its decision to ban former president Donald Trump.

“The fact that Facebook provided such an ambiguous, undetailed response to a call for greater transparency is not acceptable,” the board said in a report. “Facebook’s answer provides no meaningful transparency on the criteria for accounts or pages being selected for inclusion in cross-check.”

The Board also rightly pointed out that it can’t do its job if Facebook isn’t being honest. Hopefully that motivates the company to actually provide all the proper info moving forward so that the independent group can hold Facebook to account.




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